Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan met in Xiamen with Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary general of the UN Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Claudio Scajola, the Italian minister of production activities, who are attending the ninth China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), which opened in Xiamen Thursday.

When meeting with Supachai, Zeng said the UNCTAD has engaged itself in promoting South-South cooperation and South-North dialogue and has done a lot of effective work in promoting economic and trade development in developing countries.

China, as the largest developing country, attaches great importance to the cooperation with the UNCTAD, and hopes to enlarge the fields of cooperation and work for the prosperity and improvement of living standards of developing countries, Zeng said.

When meeting with Scajola, Zeng said high-level exchanges between China and Italy have become frequent in recent years and the comprehensive strategic partnership has also deepened.

Italy, with advanced technology and skills in many fields and energetic middle and small sized companies, has been an important trade partner to China, he said.

He said he hopes the business circles of the two countries can invest in each other's countries.

The ninth CIFIT opened in Xiamen Thursday morning.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2005)