This case stars Long Wan, chairman and CEO of Shuanghui International (Shuanghui), as he works through the postmerger integration of the newly acquired US-based Smithfield Foods (Smithfield). Wan must address many potential hurdles as he sought to integrate two very different companies, on two different continents, separated by a world of cultural and political differences. With its headquarters in rural Virginia and its folksy southern American history, was integration with a formerly state-owned Chinese meat processor possible? On a strictly practical note, how could he best help the two companies realize their production and capacity synergies and unlock their joint value as harmoniously as possible?