The 2005 China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) opened yesterday in Xiamen, Fujian Province, attracting 8,500 overseas delegates from 102 countries and regions.

At the four-day event, 16,223 projects from the mainland will source for foreign capital, and 950 from 66 other nations will look for Chinese investors.

China is willing to enlarge trade cooperation with all nations and achieve common progress and sustainable development in the course of fair competition and all-round cooperation, Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said at the fair.

"China's economy is maintaining a steady and rapid growth with the country's opening-up policy. Attracting foreign investment is a win-win scenario. China's economy benefits from it, while overseas investors make good profits," Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai said at the opening ceremony.

International seminars to be held during the fair include the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Trade and Investment Exposition, the High-Profile Seminar on Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Intellectual Property Protection, and the First Cross-Straits Tourism Expo.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) also released its World Trade and Development Report yesterday at the expo.

In addition, Sweden, Poland, Belgium, Denmark, Canada, Italy, Hong Kong and Macao held "Hall Day" activities seeking investments.

China added the word "international" to this year's fair, aiming to develop CIFIT into an information exchange platform for investors and enterprises throughout the world, said Liu Yajun, director of the Executive Bureau of Investment Promotion with the Ministry of Commerce.

Dan Carp, chairman of Eastman Kodak, said that adding the word "international" to the event signals an important shift in China's approach to trade and investment.

"In the early days of economic reforms in China, the focus was mainly on attracting direct foreign investment and increasing exports. Now the objective is broader -- to promote bilateral investment and strike a balance between imports and exports," Carp said.

The largest foreign delegation attending the fair is from the UK with more than 130 business people.

Christopher Hum, the UK's ambassador to China, said his country was the first to hold Hall Day activities at CIFIT, demonstrating the importance it attaches to the event.

(China Daily September 9, 2005)