Chongqing-The Fourth Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade (WCIFIT) concluded with fruitful results of investment promotion, according to a press conference on July 24. 

Data shows that 66 major projects were signed in Chongqing with an investment amount of 222.85 billion yuan (about 33.01 billion U.S. dollars). In comparison, other provinces and municipalities signed 38 projects with an investment amount of 24.02 billion yuan (about 3.56 billion U.S. dollars) at the 4th WCIFIT. 

"The 4th WCIFIT attracts more high-end resources," said Zhang Yongwu, director of Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, at the press conference. "Well-known enterprises are optimistic about the western region of China."

Last year, Chongqing was approved to become the only city in central and western China to carry out a comprehensive pilot project to expand and open up the national service industry and to become one of the first five cities in the country to foster the international consumption center. These two major initiatives have led and demonstration effects in the western region added Zhang.   

The Cross-Border E-Commerce Forum held for the first time

This year, the 4th WCIFIT added six industry pavilions of modern manufacturing, service, Cross-Border E-Commerce industry, etc. With 12 thematic pavilions and a 160,000 square-meter area, the 4th WCIFIT reached a record high in terms of exhibition scale. 

Zhang said the international elements of this year's WCIFIT are more prominent. By displaying the characteristic products of each country, 16 participating countries and 77 overseas exhibitors highlighted the local economic and trade environment, exotic customs, and diversified cultures. 

The new business opportunities in cross-border trade were showcased at the fair. The Cross-Border E-Commerce Forum was held for the first time on top of WCIFIT, representing the whole industry chain of the sector.

Many Fortune 500 companies from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States presented new products and technologies at the fair, like eBay, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and others. Some leading domestic, cross-border e-commerce firms, like Alibaba International Station and Jingdong International, debuted. 

World-class industrial clusters rearranged

At the 2022 CCI-ILSTC International Cooperation Forum on July 22, experts and scholars from home and abroad put forward a series of initiatives on the New International Land-sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC). 

Experts believe that the ILSTC guarantees the security of the regional industrial chain and supply chain, and the world-class industrial clusters are being rearranged along the international channel. 

Another point addressed is co-building an international logistics innovation highland and an international supply chain intelligence hub. The channel logistics organization and operation mode should be optimized to conduct digital, networked, and intelligent transformation, accelerating the integration into the global supply chain network. 

Furthermore, international cooperation should be continuously expanded to build a demonstration belt for international production capacity cooperation. Chongqing will create a high-quality land port economic zone and develop new industries and models by relying on the port hub. 

For example, with Chongqing being approved as the first port for importing drugs and biological agents, more pharmaceutical products will enter the Chinese market through the ILSTC. The global and science-led biopharmaceutical business AstraZeneca is one case of a multinational pharmaceutical company in China’s healthcare industry.