The latest promotional event for the 2016 China International Fair for Investment & Trade took place in Shanghai on April 15.

Organizers of the fair outlined the eventful program for the fair, which will open for business persons from across the world in Xiamen, Fujian province from Sept 8 to Sept 11.

Tuning in for the updates from the organizers at the Shanghai event were diplomats in the city from 30 countries including the US, Peru, the UK, Russia, Malaysia, and Japan, and representatives from investment promotion agencies and multinational companies.

A number of associations of foreign businesses operating in China were also in attendance. 

Speaking at the event were Li Yong, deputy director of the investment promotion unit under the commerce ministry; Li Lin, vice president of the Fujian People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; Shen Jingyi, director of the investment promotion unit of Jiangxi province, which has been named the Guest Province of Honor for the 2016 fair; Eddie Chen Yonglan, managing director from French investment company Eurazeo; Weng Zhongyi, former Malaysian intangible diplomat and president of the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park Development Co; Stefano Beltrame, general consul of Italy in Shanghai; and a representative from the fair’s sole airline partner Air China. 

An agreement for strategic cooperation was signed between the organizing committee of the fair and China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park, as a sign of the growing brand strength of the fair. The park, located in Qinzhou city in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, was founded in March 2012 by the then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and the incumbent Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak at an inception ceremony. 

According to the organizers, the 2016 fair as a major networking platform for international investors, manufacturers and traders is to carry more importance than the previous sessions, as international investment and industrial cooperation prioritized in the Government Work Report 2016 by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. 

The fair combines product exhibitions and business matching opportunities and is authorized to be held annually in the southeastern city of Xiamen by China’s State Council. 

It is sponsored by the Commerce Ministry, in cooperation with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, World Trade Organization, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, and World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies.

The fair helps land cooperation deals by promoting a mutual understanding between global investors and promising projects awaiting investment, without being limited by the boundaries of nations.

According to the Commerce Ministry, mainland investors made a collective $118 billion direct investment in non-financial areas in 2015, including 6532 overseas enterprises in 155 countries and regions. The investment volume exceeded the 2014 figure by 14.7 percent. 

The trend will continue in the years ahead, as the Belt and Road Initiative and industrial cooperation worldwide continue to be the core of China’s development strategies. The fair plans to promote China’s industrial policies and reform progress, including supply side reform, two-way opening up goals and free trade policies, with one focus on helping Chinese enterprises enter the global market.

Thematic forums and networking events have been scheduled to address connectivity and development issues among the countries included in the Belt and Road Initiative. Designated exhibitions and project matching events are also in schedule.

An international industrial cooperation symposium will be used to talk about related national policies and exchange experiences among enterprises from various regions.

At a “talkfest”, international companies will get a chance to sit together and talk about topics of acquisition and investment, overseas investment and risk control, and cooperation and innovation in finance.

Chinese enterprises with the experience in investing overseas will share their knowledge in this area to encourage more Chinese companies to follow suit. The All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce, China Enterprise Confederation and Zhisland.com – an online society for Chinese business elite – will work with the Ministry of Commerce staff and local government officials to make sure of a massive turnout of major state-owned enterprises and established private companies to an area dedicated to outbound investment. 

To help enterprises to prepare for their overseas endeavors, the fair’s organizers arranged for several influential research reports on global investment to be released during the September fair, including the Africa Investor Report 2016 by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Investment Report 2016 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the report on global M&A behaviors in 2016 by the China Association of Private Equity. 

Direct, one-on-one conversations can be arranged for Chinese companies and overseas government officials and companies to meet for detailed, efficient discussions.

The 50^th anniversary of United Nations Industrial Development Organization will be celebrated with a series of events to promote its core values of green development, inclusiveness and sustainability.

Fortune Magazine, on the other hand, will host a workshop for international dignitaries, business establishments and the most influential managerial personnel from across the world to bounce ideas to discover new ways of creating wealth.

More symposiums are set to take place during the fair, including the China-Israel industrial and technological cooperation summit, the overseas Chinese investment summit (sponsored by the overseas Chinese affairs office at State Council of China), the international friendship cities forum (sponsored by the China International Friendship Cities Association), the international crowd-funding forum and the Australia-China business forum.

The parallel International Investment Forum event will see policy makers, business leaders and reliable analysts share their opinions on investment strategies and global economic and trade trends. （Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Convention and Exhibition Affairs ）