Chongqing Municipality, southwest China - May 21-23, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
STORYLINE:
A total of 359 deals worth 357.8 billion yuan (about 55.6 billion U.S. dollars) were signed at the third Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade, which concluded on Sunday.
Seventeen contracts worth over 5 billion yuan each were signed at the fair, which was held in the southwestern Chinese municipality of Chongqing, said Zhang Zhikui, an official with the organizing committee.
Notably, 11 deals related to clean energy worth 34.4 billion yuan were signed, showing a growing interest in investment in the green sector, according to Zhang.
This year's trade fair featured eight themed exhibition halls and more than 100 events to promote investment and cooperation among enterprises. More than 4,100 companies and organizations from over 40 countries and regions participated in the fair.
The fair also hosted the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative - International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (CCI-ILSTC) International Cooperation Forum. Attendees from China and overseas share the view that the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) provides a major opportunity to enhance the function of the CCI-ILSTC land-sea corridor, which will further expand the room for economic and trade cooperation between China's western regions and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Guests also put forward the idea of connecting central Asian and European countries with the corridor through a docking between the corridor project and the China-Europe CR Express cargo train services.