The 2006 European Union (EU)-Asia Investment Forum is to be held
on November 6 and 7 in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.
A source with the organizing committee said commercial
organization representatives from the 25 EU states and a dozen
Asian countries would attend the forum to discuss trade and
investment between the EU and Asia.
The forum will be jointly sponsored by the EU Chamber of
Commerce and China Council for the Promotion of International
Trade. The previous two forums were held in Colombo and
Bangkok.
A China-EU investment and trade fair will be held two days after
the forum with an aim to enlarge cooperation between corporations
in China and the EU.
More than 800 small and medium-sized firms from China and the EU
are expected to hold 5,000 face-to-face business talks during fair
on Nov. 9 and 10, making it the largest such event in the history
of Sino-EU economic cooperation.
The Chinese companies cover the sectors of agriculture, tourism,
health care, environmental protection, factory equipment,
construction equipment, information technology and electronics.
Despite recent trade disputes, China-EU trade exceeded US$200
billion last year and the EU has become China's largest trade
partner.
The fair will be jointly sponsored by the European Commission,
the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the
Sichuan provincial government.
(Xinhua News Agency November 5, 2006)