Delegates from foreign countries and enterprises sign business deals and speak highly of region's commercial potential

Chengdu, a megacity in western China, is accelerating the pace of its opening-up by hosting a growing number of international events.

The latest event is the 16th Western China International Fair, a State-level international exposition under the co-sponsorship of China's 16 ministries, 12 provincial-level administrative units and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in Northwest China.

Chengdu is the permanent site of the Western China International Fair.

This year's event, held from Nov 3 to 14, drew delegates from 91 countries and regions, including Guinea President Alpha Conde, Serb President Milorad Dodik, German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, and Afghanistan's second vice-president Mohammad Sarwar Danesh.

The exhibition area is as large as 200,000 square meters. Sixteen countries set up their national pavilions, more than any of the previous 15 sessions of the fair, according to the organizers.

Nearly 9,000 firms from around the world attended this year's fair, including some of the world's leading firms, such as BMW, Daimler, METRO, DHL, Google and Huawei.

The fair highlighted China's Belt and Road Initiative. Four halls featuring the initiative were set up and several activities centered on the initiative as their main topic.

A total of 1,008 investment projects worth 787.7 billion yuan ($116.6 billion) were signed between investors from around the world and one municipality, 11 provinces and autonomous regions in western China, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

At an investment promotion and matchmaking activity, Chengdu signed 19 strategic and investment cooperation agreements worth as much as 158.6 billion yuan with investors from home and abroad.

Delegates from around the world spoke highly of the fair and its host, Chengdu.

German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, who led a delegation of 500 members to the fair, said the German government and German companies were glad that Germany was the guest of honor at the fair.

"The event offers a perfect chance for German companies to get to know about the investment and development opportunities in Sichuan and western China," he said, adding that he looks forward to deeper cooperation between Chinese and German companies.

Rainer Becker, CEO of car2go China Co Ltd and head of business development Asia-Pacific for car2go, a 100 percent subsidiary of Daimler AG, said the fair offered him a great opportunity to meet business partners from all over the world.

"The event was very well organized. It focused on so many fields, such as mobility, new energy, emergency equipment and aviation, enabling participants to communicate with different people on different topics," he said.

Sam Guo, chief operating officer of car2go China, said the company is planning to expand its business in China, and Chengdu is among its destinations.

Some 20 Hungarian companies also attended the fair, covering fields including industrial manufacturing, innovative technology, environmental monitoring, agricultural products and fast-moving consumer goods.

Allaga Tamas, a member of the Hungarian delegation, said: "I see a lot of good opportunities in Chengdu, which is very open to foreign innovation and technology."

Robin Niethammer, chairman of the southwest branch of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said the advanced transportation network of Chengdu, including the Chengdu-Europe Express rail that links western China with Europe, strengthens Sino-European ties and makes it more convenient for international companies to invest in Chengdu and Sichuan.

"The huge market in western China and the local government's preferential policies also attract a great number of investors," he said.

Niethammer said more than 300 companies in the European Union have a presence in Chengdu, including Volvo, Siemens and Peugeot.

Chengdu 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.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 11/23/2016 page1)