Haier Group
Close to government officials
Looking back at Shandong's history, it is quite difficult to find famous merchants or bankers. Shandong is not the hometown of merchants, likely due to the prevalence of Confucianism. Confucius held that merchants should be restricted as they are driven by profits. On the contrary, agriculture has been attached great importance in the birthplace of Confucianism. For most people in Shandong, merchants are inferior to officials or farmers.