Fair Promotes Cooperation Between East and West China: OfficialThe Investment and Trade Fair for Cooperation Between Eastern and Western China, an annual event since 1997, has served as a bridge promoting all-around cooperation between the country's eastern and western parts, a provincial government official of Shaanxi said Friday in Xi'an.Vice-governor Jia Zhibang said that the fair has become a very important national event for pushing east-west collaboration inside China and for luring foreign investment to China. The fifth fair for cooperation between eastern and western China opened Friday morning in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and will last until April 10. Jia said that Shaanxi will make good use of the fair to enhance its collaboration with the eastern region and to carry out the strategy of developing western China. The current fair has attracted more than 7,000 enterprises from home and abroad, and over 100,000 Chinese and overseas businessmen. Four multinational corporations such as Siemens have sent representatives to the fair. The fair has a 48,000 sq m floor space demonstrating the development potential of the western region and how investors from eastern China and abroad can make profit by participating in the development of the west. Last year's fair harvested a total contractual trade volume of 100 billion yuan (12.4 billion US dollars), including 1.86 billion US dollars in foreign investment. Fair OpensChina opened a high-profile trade fair Friday in this capital city of Shaanxi Province, northwest China, to further push forward cooperation between its prosperous eastern region and the less-developed western region.The fifth Investment and Trade Fair for Cooperation Between Eastern and Western China, an annual event since 1997, has attracted government delegations from China's 29 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, more than 7,000 enterprises from home and abroad, and over 100,000 Chinese and overseas businessmen. Sponsored by the State Economic and Trade Commission and other central ministries and commissions, the fair has become an important platform for the western region to lure investment and promote scientific innovation, and for the eastern area to seek business opportunities, experts pointed out. The current fair has more than 6,000 projects requiring investment. The fields of cooperation range from infrastructure construction and reforming traditional industries with advanced technologies, to high-tech industrialization and regrouping of state property. Attendees from western provinces said that well-trained personnel and advanced technologies are urgently needed to develop bio-tech industry, energy resources, environment protection and the tourism industry in the western region. The current fair is scheduled to close on April 10. |
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