06/17/07
Mr.Chen Baogen,the mayor of Xi'an Municipal Government and vice secretary of the CPC Xi'an Committee,met with Mr.Steve Odland,Chairman and CEO of Office Depot,and his attendants in Sheraton Hotel yesterday morning.Jing Junhai,Standing Committee member of the CPC Xi'an Municipal Committee and director of Administrative Committee of Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone,attended the meeting.

Mr. Chen Baogen warmly welcomed Steve Odland.After the brief introduction about Xi'an,he said,"Xi'an is an ancient city with profound history and culture,and it's also a modern city filled with vitality and dynamic.It's now a crucial periods for development.As the pioneer of China west development,Xi'an plays an important role in developing economy, education etc,and it has great advantages in education,science and research,logistics,tourism,etc.Especially in recent years,urban infrastructure,comprehensive service functions have continuously improved.Office Depot is welcomed to invest in Xi'an,at the same time,we will make efforts to create a good environment to provide high quality and efficient services."

Steve Odland said,"As Chinese ancient capital for 13 dynasties,Xi'an is world-renowned.In recent years,its rapid development has attracted particular attention.We appreciate the good investment environment and efficient government services of Xi'an through the evaluations and we hope the two sides can strengthen cooperation to achieve a win-win situation."

Incorporated in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach,Fla.,Office Depot is one of the world's largest sellers of office products and an industry leader in every distribution channel,including stores,direct mail,contract delivery,the Internet and business-to-business electronic commerce,and has annual sales of over $15 billion.It has offices in Beijing,Shanghai,Shenzhen and Guangzhou.The aim for visiting Xi'an is to feel Xi'an investment environment and discuss the company establishment in western regions of China.