Martens, board chairman and general manager of Goodyear Dalian Tire Co., was cited Friday last week by the city's official top 10 youth selection committee for his contribution to the joint venture during the past two years.

He made his company a prominent profitable joint venture by establishing an advanced, efficient sales and promotion network across the Chinese mainland, involving nearly 200 agents, more than 1,600 service centers and 50 outlets.

Martens, born in April 1962 and a graduate of the University of Illinois, said he was very pleased to be included into the list of citation.

He said his selection showed the people in China were quite open-minded and pragmatic when honoring people on their merits.

Hao Ming, chairman of the selection committee, noted that Dalian was a city open to the outside world with a lot of foreign citizens working there.

Anyone in Dalian who has contributed significantly to local social and economic development would be honored regardless of their citizenship, Hao said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 22, 2003)