REGIONAL> Highlights
2008 Central Plain Economic Cooperation Forum for Overseas Chinese reaps benefits
By Deng Jingjing (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-09-23 14:10

Sponsored by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council and People’s Government of Henan province, the 2008 Central Plain Economic Cooperation Forum for Overseas Chinese has kicked off at Pingdingshan, central China’s Henan province.

The three-day forum, from September 18 to 20, attracted 400 representatives of overseas Chinese from the United States, Germany, Australia and other 39 countries and regions around the world.

Collecting 376 cooperating goods from overseas representatives and 1,293 cooperating items from home, this year’s forum focus on new materials, new energy resources, energy-saving and pollution-reduction technologies, environmental protection, cultural and travel resources. 

China has over 30 million overseas Chinese, and many of them have played important roles in China’s development since the reform and opening up policy initiated in 1978. According to statistics, overseas Chinese are the main pillars in China’s foreign-invested enterprises and joint ventures, which account for 70 percent, and the investment capital account for about 60 percent in China’s utilizing foreign capital.