Fair joins the West with western China

Chengdu shows glamour in city image, high-tech industries and economic development

The Western China International Fair, which has been hosted 16 times in Chengdu, has become a platform for international communication and cooperation, the event's organizers said.

This year's fair, which held its opening ceremony on Nov 3 and ended on Nov 14, organized 75 events related to investment promotion and trade cooperation.

Regions from Sichuan province, of which Chengdu is the capital, signed 836 projects at the 2016 fair with total investment valued at some 657.25 billion yuan ($96.32 billion).

Jeong Hyeon-jun, a representative from Korea Business Incubation Association, said that the association and South Korean exhibitors appreciated that the fair provided them with such a platform, where they found South Korean products were popular in China.

Amanda Koh from Malaysian CocoScience Co said the company thanked the fair for the considerate services it provided before and during the event.

Cathy Lee, a black tea exhibitor from Sri Lanka, said: "We feel the fair has become more and more international and the conference and exhibition environment is satisfying."

The fair, held in western China's Chengdu, is not inferior to those in Beijing and East China, Lee said.

The Chengdu Investment Presentation and International Cooperation Zone Project matchmaking event, hosted in the Tianfu New City Convention Center on Nov 2, was regarded as a highlight of the fair.

The presentation and matchmaking activity saw the signing of 19 agreements worth 158.63 billion yuan, the fair's organizers said.

Thirteen project investment deals included one for which Siemens will help Beijing-headquartered BOE Technology Group Co, a supplier of internet-of-things technology, products and services, to upgrade and reform production lines with total investment valued at 1 billion yuan.

Six strategic cooperation agreements involving 115 billion yuan included one for an industry fund focusing on Sino-Germany (Chengdu) innovation cooperation.

The fair invited foreign and domestic companies to learn about the economic and social development of Chengdu and potential opportunities in the city. The companies also discussed cooperation with businesses and industry associations from Chengdu.

Local officials said the fair aimed to help Chengdu become a regional hub of economy, science and technology, cultural creativity, foreign contact and comprehensive transport in western China.

Chen Zeyan, an official at the China Convention/Exhibition/Event Society, said that Chengdu has excellent core competitiveness and solid economic and social foundations, which are favorable for the development of the conference and exhibition industry. The Chengdu government is actively guiding and supporting the industry's development and the Chengdu Bureau of Exposition has taken steps toward creating a good environment for the sector in Chengdu, Chen said.

The first phase of the 11th EU-China Business and Technology Cooperation Fair, another important event at the Western China International Fair, was held from Nov 2 to 6 in the Chengdu Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone. Its second phase took place from Nov 6 to 8 in Qingdao.

Statistics showed the first phase saw more than 150 companies from 14 European countries and more than 400 Chinese enterprises engage in more than 800 matchmaking talks.

songmengxing@chinadaily.com.cn

Exhibition areas

With the theme "taking manufacturing as a pillar industry and boosting investment", this year's expo displays the essence of Chengdu, including its city image, industrial products, technological innovation and international cooperation.

Showing the city

Covering an area of 200 square meters, one section of the City Exhibition Hall presents the location, prosperity, goals and strategies of Chengdu as a backbone in China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Industrial products

The exhibition area for industrial products covers some 1,000 sq m. It displays products from such pillar industries as aviation, information technology, motoring, transport and biomedicine, as well as innovative products including robots, unmanned aerial vehicles, visual reality and augmented reality.

Interactive experience zone

Covering some 200 sq m, this zone showcases high-end products such as VR, AR and intelligent robots. The main items include facial recognition products from Wisesoft Co Ltd in Chengdu, the latest VR tech from Chengdu Virtual World Technology Co Ltd, wearable external skeleton robots from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, and a 3-D anatomy system from Chengdu CTC Digital Tech Co Ltd.

Chengdu-Europe Express Railway and Chengdu Science City

The railway plays a key role in building Chengdu into an international gateway for land transport. The scientific city presents the blueprint of Chengdu's future economic development and reform and innovative strategies.

(China Daily European Weekly 11/18/2016 page14)