Yantai Greets APEC Investment MartYantai, a coastal city in east China's Shandong Province is fully prepared for the second APEC Investment Mart to be held here from June 9 to 15.China is hosting all the APEC-related conferences this year, in the run-up to the APEC Informal Leadership Meeting scheduled for October in Shanghai. But it is not the first time Yantai has been connected to APEC. In 1997 and 1998 respectively, Yantai hosted the APEC International Trade Expo and the APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Technology Exchange Conference and Exhibition Fair, which greatly stimulated its growth towards being an international city. October 1998 saw the inauguration of the Yantai APEC High-Tech Industrial Park, the fifth of its kind opened by APEC members in China, following complexes in Beijing, Xi'an, Hefei and Suzhou. Meanwhile, Yantai has conducted extensive economic and trade cooperation with APEC economies. According to estimates, in the first four months of this year, Yantai has attracted a total 180 million yuan of foreign investment from APEC members, up 20.5% year-on-year. To ensure the success of this year's investment mart, the local government has directed 7 billion yuan towards city reconstruction and environment improvement. So far, all 21 APEC economies have decided to send delegations to the mart and over 30,000 businesspeople are expected to attend the economic gala. The decision for China to host the second APEC investment mart was made during the 11th APEC ministerial-level meeting in September 1999. The first APEC investment mart was held in Seoul, capital of the Republic of Korea, in June 1999. |
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