YINCHUAN -- A total of 158 contracts worth about 260 billion yuan ($42 billion) were signed on Monday at the first China-Arab States Expo in northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

The contracts involve cooperation in energy and chemicals, new materials, equipment manufacturing, halal food, infrastructure, logistics, culture and tourism between China and Arabian countries as well as muslim regions, said Liu Hui, chairman of the regional government.

Fifty-one agreements were signed between China and foreign countries with a total contract volume of 98.1 billion yuan, of which 31 were signed with Arabian countries with a contract volume of 66.5 billion yuan.

The five-day event, a key platform to promote the relationship between China and the Arab states, kicked off on Sunday in the regional capital city of Yinchuan.

The Expo is jointly sponsored by China's Ministry of Commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the government of Ningxia. Its predecessor, known as the China (Ningxia) International Investment and Trade Fair and the China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forum, was held annually from 2010 to 2012.