Chongqing - The Fifth Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade (WCIFIT) concluded Sunday, reaching 88 signed major projects with a contract investment of over 290.7 billion yuan (about 41.48 billion U.S. dollars), according to the press conference on May 21. 

Data shows that the average investment of a single project is 840 million yuan higher than the previous four sessions, reaching 3.4 billion yuan. 

The fair witnessed 45 centrally-managed enterprises sign investment projects worth 162.6 billion yuan, covering sectors such as advanced manufacturing, digital economy, and energy development. 

Experts contribute wisdom for Western China's opening-up

Gathering important guests from home and abroad, seven foreign dignitaries and 43 foreign ambassadors attended the fair, including countries of Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Myanmar. 

Six state ministries and commissions, delegations of 30 Chinese provincial-level regions, Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions joined the fair. Nearly 1,900 famous domestic and foreign enterprises from 44 countries and regions attended, including 30 Fortune Global 500 companies, 110 multinational companies, and 67 centrally-managed enterprises. 

Focusing on channel construction, industrial development, trade innovation, consumption upgrading, and other hot topics, 13 forums and summits were held simultaneously. Hundreds of experts and scholars gathered in Chongqing to contribute wisdom for Western China's opening up. 

For instance, a new initiative of the New International Land-sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) was proposed to explore the international standards of digital channels and create a security barrier for channel data. 

Investment and trade activities for cooperation

Serving national strategy, improving openness in the western region, and developing the digital economy, the WCIFIT has covered a series of investment and trade activities to explore more new cooperation areas, said Zhang Yongwu, director of Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce. 

For example, the "Invest in China" Western Region Special Promotion Event attracted more than 360 guests from 139 multinational companies, international organizations, and well-known enterprises. The US-China Business Council and enterprises along the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership saw investment potential in the Western region. 

In addition, this year's WCIFIT highlighted digitalization and showcased the development trends of smart city, artificial intelligence, and digital trade. As many high-tech products are displayed, the visitors can visit the highly humanoid robots, intelligent networked new energy vehicles, and so on.