18th Western China International Fair opens in Chengdu

People watch a tea performance at the Kuanzhai Lane Historic District in Chengdu, the capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province, on Aug. 4, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)

CHENGDU, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The 18th Western China International Fair (WCIF) opened in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, on Thursday.

This year's fair is scheduled to last five days with the theme of "New Era of China, New Opportunities for Western China". It has attracted more than 50,000 guests and traders from 66 countries and regions to participate both online and offline.

The exhibition area covers 200,000 square meters, consisting of more than 10 halls with different themes, including the Belt and Road international cooperation hall, and the Yangtze River Economic Belt cooperation hall.

Nearly 30 investment-promotion activities will be held during the five-day event, with a focus on emerging industries, including aviation, digital economy, and the international logistics supply chain.

Established in 2000, the WCIF, organized by China's National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has become an important platform for western China to promote investment, carry out cooperation and conduct diplomacy.

According to the statistics from the Secretariat of the organizing committee of the WCIF, 12,000 investment agreements have been signed so far since the first session of the fair, with the contracted investment amount exceeding 6.8 trillion yuan (1.05 trillion U.S. dollars). The accumulated exhibition area exceeds 2 million square meters, with more than 60,000 exhibitors.

In recent years, the western regions of China have achieved remarkable results in economic development. From 2012 to 2020, the regional GDP of twelve western provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities increased from 10.6 trillion yuan to 21.3 trillion yuan, accounting for 21 percent of that of the whole country.