With the conclusion of the Hangzhou G20 Summit earlier this week, China witnessed another big event, the opening of the 19th China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT), held in the regional business hub of Xiamen, Fujian province on Sept 8.

The four day event is set receive 50,000 participants from 100 countries and regions at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center.

According to Wang Shouwen, Vice-Minister of Commerce, the CIFIT will sustain its orientation towards specialization, globalization and marketization, to build an innovative and professional platform for two-way investment, policy releases, and investment-focused forums and seminars.

To help participants realize mutual benefits, the organizers arranged a wide range of events.

Charting a new landscape in international cooperation

To push forward the Belt and Road Initiative and boost international investment, the fair will stage a series of activities to showcase investment opportunities, priority projects and specialty products from Belt and Road countries; to discuss international economic and cultural cooperation among Maritime Silk Road countries; and to create business opportunities through match making and networking events.

A longtime sponsor of the fair, UNIDO is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and the organization’s commitment to promoting sustainable, green and inclusive growth, along with industrial transformation among developing countries.

The organization also plans to publicize a research report on industrial upgrading in the East African country Ethiopia at the forum on investment in Africa, which is expected to be attended by political dignitaries from Senegal and Ethiopia. Justin Lin Yifu, a Chinese economist specializing in economic reforms, has been invited to deliver the report.

In light of multinational companies’ great contribution to the growth of the global economy through foreign direct investment, 200 of them will be invited to explore future development opportunities at the fair.

Some of the companies will sit down with officials from China’s Ministry of Commerce to discuss the improvement of business environments and the balanced use of foreign investment in various fields. The aim of this forum is to promote industrial transformation in China and raise the confidence of foreign companies in investing in the country.

Attracting global participation to provide greater business opportunities

This year’s exhibition area will be 45 percent larger than last year’s, covering a total of 138,000 square meters and housing 6,000 booths. The trade facilitation function of the fair will be strengthened with a large portion of the exhibition site assigned solely to product exhibitions, where specialty products from China and overseas will be on show.

More than 50  countries and regions will occupy an exhibition space of 20,000 sq m, including an 800 sq m Italian pavilion, a 1,000 sq m Australian hall and the 6,000 sq m Macao exhibition.

The Invest in China exhibition hall will capture great attention, with provincial-level government agencies carefully arranging exhibitions and promotional events. The Guest Province of Honor at this year’s fair, inland Jiangxi province, will set up a massive 1,000 sq m exhibition space to promote itself as an attractive investment destination in East China with hospitable residents and supportive regulatory policies.

Around 2,000 foreign and domestic enterprises will show off their competitive products and services, including major state-owned enterprises from China, such as rail transit equipment supplier CRRC, and major Chinese airline Air China.

Building on economic openness

Running alongside the fair, the 2016 International Investment Forum, with its theme of “new visions, further growth and greater openness,” will be attended by global political and business leaders, including Chinese economist Justin Lin Yifu, Wanda Group chairman Wang Jianlin, Party secretary of Fujian province You Quan, and officials from China’s Ministry of Commerce and State Council.

The Ministry of Commerce will organize a series of seminars during the 2016 IIF. The carefully selected themes will cover cooperation with Taiwan, finance leasing, China-US corporate cooperation, and more.

Another 30 symposiums will also be held during the forum by other Chinese government agencies, national business associations, public institutions and media outlets. Meanwhile a number of investment promotion institutions  will host promotional activities to promote the business environments in various countries and regions.

A number of important reports will be published during the forum. UNCTAD and UNIDO will release research reports on global investment and industrial transformation in East Africa, while the China Association of Private Equity will publicize a 2016 global merger and acquisitions report.

In total, the numerous forums will see 300 international speakers share their opinions on various issues associated with economic development. This year’s fair is set to provide attendees with a panoramic view of the global economy and the chance to witness many of the world’s most insightful people brainstorming the key issues in today’s economy.

Perennial online fair site

This year’s fair will strive to offer the most comprehensive platform for investment and trade, offering customized match making events and well prepared business negotiation opportunities, and organizing coordinated exhibitions and forums.

A total of 30,000 investment projects will be launched to global investors during the fair. To help broker as many cooperative deals as possible, the fair’s organizers arranged 26,000 business negotiations in the lead-up to the fair, with another 3,000 project matching events to take place after the fair starts on Sept 8.

The match making events will prioritize the industries with the most growth potential, including information and communication technology, service trade, modern agriculture, infrastructure construction, new energy, equipment manufacturing, petrochemicals, bio-medicine, and financial services.

Investment agencies, government officials and Chinese companies with plans for global expansion will take advantage of the great opportunities provided for them to learn each other’s terms for cooperation.

Investment opportunities opened up by China’s ongoing supply-side reforms and promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship, venture capital and listed companies will be presented to the participants.

The online platform of the fair icifit.com will extend the services and complete the fair’s role of fusing exhibitions, business talks and professional, industry-specific seminars. Through the online service, investors and government agencies can connect with each other without the limits of time and space, and enjoy the quality services and consolidated data resources the platform provides.