More than 50 international sourcing agents, including General Electric(GE), General Motors (GM) and Carrefour have enrolled forthe conference so far, said Tang Qingfu, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.

According to Tang, the city set up a center for the promotion of international sourcing and a special international sourcing services company in March this year to help international sourcingagents find appropriate suppliers via Shanghai quickly.

Shanghai, the hub of the country's industry and commerce, has listed the construction of an international sourcing center as an important strategy for sustainable development during the tenth five-year-plan period (2001-2005).

According to a government plan, by late 2003, the city intends to make it possible for international procurement agents to purchase 8 billion US dollars worth of commodities from the Yangtze River Delta via Shanghai. By the year of 2010, the amount of procurement by international sourcing agents via Shanghai is predicted to reach 50 billion US dollars, which is close to Shanghai's total gross domestic product (GDP) volume for the year of 2000.

(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2002)