Zhejiang fair targets Taiwan investorsCross-Straits economic co-operation between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan will be one of the themes of the third Zhejiang Investment and Trade Fair, according to senior local officials.The province in East China is to host the fair in Ningbo from June 8-12. Other issues of concern are the information technology industry and development zones. Wang Xiaoling, deputy secretary general of the Zhejiang provincial government, said the fair would have 2,000 projects on display and more than 3,000 overseas business people were expected to visit. He said the majority of the projects are in the petrochemical, machinery, electronics, biomedicine, agriculture, tourism, trade, commerce, consulting and other service industry fields where the provincial government encourages and supports foreign investors' entry. Taiwan investors, an increasing source of overseas direct investment in the province, are the major targets of the fair, said Wang. Official statistics show Taiwan was Zhejiang's third largest overseas investor last year, only after Hong Kong and the United States. It made up 9.9 per cent of the province's promised direct investment from overseas. A forum will be held during the fair to promote cross-Straits economic co-operation. Wang said the fair would also focus on national and provincial development zones in Zhejiang and organize a forum based on the development strategy of the zones in the new century. The fair will also include two exhibitions. One will be for import and export commodities such as machinery and electronic products, textiles and garments, light industry products and household electronic appliances. The other will be about the application of information technology. Wang said the fair has invited foreign-invested companies, manufacturers that the government allows to export their products and some foreign trade companies to display their commodities at the exhibitions. |
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