Chengdu takes on the world as both gateway, destination

Western China Intl Fair to open, beckoning global visitors and highlighting Belt and Road Initiative

Chengdu, a mega city in western China, has turned into a major destination for international events in western China as it has become more international in recent years.

The 16th Western China International Fair, a State-level international exposition, will be held in the city from Nov 3 to 14, drawing delegates from 88 countries and regions.

The Western China International Fair was founded in 2000 for the implementation of China's Western China Development Strategy, when it picked Chengdu as the permanent site.

Under the theme "Western China, Opportunities for the World", the event this year will be held in two phases, including 10 major events and 60 special activities.

Sixteen countries will set up their own national pavilions, the largest number among all previous sessions of the fair, said the organizers.

This year's event will cover a total area of about 200,000 square meters.

Nearly 9,000 enterprises from 75 countries and regions will attend the fair, including some of the world's leading companies such as BMW, Daimler, METRO, DHL and Huawei.

The organizers expect the fair to attract more than 60,000 domestic and overseas guests and businessmen, among which 20,000 are from overseas.

The fair also aims to highlight elements of the Belt and Road Initiative. Four halls featuring Belt and Road materials, forums and activities will also be held.

During the event, the city of Chengdu will showcase its own achievements in high-tech industries such as rail transit, IT, auto manufacturing, aerospace and bio-medicine, as well as some of its leading innovative companies and products.

The city is also expected to bring in a series of major projects at the fair.

As a major part of the Western China International Fair, the 11th EU-China Business and Technology Cooperation Fair will be held from Nov 3 to 6.

The fair will welcome 200 foreign dignitaries from 14 European countries, as well as diplomats, companies, international organizations, and chambers and associations from overseas.

Dai Yiling, president of the EU Project Innovation Center in Chengdu, said the fair this year will focus on areas including energy conservation and environmental protection, new energy, new materials, information and communication technology and intelligent manufacturing.

The EU Project Innovation Center is the EU's first project innovation center in China. It serves as a comprehensive platform to promote trade, investment and technology cooperation between EU and western China.

"We will arrange for high-tech companies from Chengdu and Europe to have more than 800 one-on-one meetings, facilitating bilateral collaboration," she said.

In the past

Chengdu has played host to a number of major events this year, including the 2016 Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair, the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, and the 22nd World Route Development Forum.

The 2016 Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair, an international platform promoting the exchange of innovative ideas and achievements, attracted delegates from 36 countries and regions around the world.

More than 3,000 deals, worth more than 16 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) in technology trade, equity transactions and employment contracts were signed during the fair, including 1,746 agreements valued at 6.17 billion yuan in technological achievements.

The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting gathered finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 member states and guest countries, as well as principals of international financial organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The 22nd World Route Development Forum, one of the biggest annual events for the global civil aviation sector, drew more than 3,000 representatives from airlines, airports, government departments and international organizations. It was the largest in scale in the event's history

The Chengdu city government and Sichuan Province Airport Group together signed agreements with six airlines to open nine nonstop air routes departing from Chengdu during the event.

The routes will be launched within one year.

Adrian Newton, an executive at UBM EMEA, which organized the forum, said the event was a success and it was a wise choice to have Chengdu as the host city.

"Chengdu has more than pandas; it also has the basic conditions to become an international metropolis," Newton said.

Over the past five years, Chengdu has introduced on average more than 10 new international conventions each year, including the 2013 Fortune Global Forum, the 12th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention and the ninth World Biomaterials Congress.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/03/2016 page7)