CHICAGO, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China's rapidly growing economy and booming middle class provide a huge market and business opportunities to the companies of the U.S. state of Indiana, America China Society of Indiana Executive Director Colin Renk said on Monday.

"China is still growing fast ... and is a huge market that could be tapped by manufacturers and other companies," Renk told the Gary Chamber of Commerce at a luncheon.

Rend also gave suggestions on how Indiana companies can be more competitive in China. "You have a unique situation, being between Chicago and Detroit on a corridor of investment," Renk said, adding: "It could open the doors."

He cited the example of Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly, which opened operations in China a century ago and is running a successful business in China now.

But the executive director also warned that companies interested in China must do due diligence and cultivate right relationships.

China is Indiana's third largest export market, behind only Canada and Mexico. The state exported 3.1 billion U.S. dollars of goods such as grains, pharmaceutical drugs, auto parts and medical equipment to China in 2017, and exports to China have grown 110 percent since 2008, as compared with 37 percent to the rest of the world.