The 14th China Urumqi Foreign Economic Relations and Trade fair,
a trading platform linking China with southern, central and western
Asian countries, opened Thursday in Urumqi, capital of northwest
China's Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region.
The five-day fair attracted more than 1,000 business people from
countries including Russia, Kazakhstan and Pakistan, and 15 Chinese
provinces, regions and municipalities.
The fair is expected to witness the signing of 14 foreign trade
contracts worth about 243 million US dollars and a domestic trade
of 25.5 billion yuan (US$315 million).
A forum will be held on middle and western Asian economic
cooperation to promote regional cooperation, which draws more than
100 representatives from ten countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan,
Turkey and Iran.
Promotion activities like "Novosibirsk Day" of Russia and"
Pakistan Day" will also be held during the fair.
"Xinjiang has established economic relations with more than 140
countries and regions and its foreign trade and economic
cooperation are still expanding, "said Ismail
Tiliwaldi, chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and
also director of the fair's organizing committee.
"The fair will also contribute to further economic cooperation
between central and western Asian nations."
Beginning in 1992, the annual trade fair has so far attracted
business people from about 70 countries and regions and about
10,000 domestic business people.
It has concluded US$20.7 billion of foreign trade and 233.7
billion yuan (US$28.16 billion) of domestic trade, according to the
regional government.
Famous for containing the historical Silk Road, Xinjiang is
adjacent on eight countries and has opened 17 ports, becoming an
important portal for China to connect with middle and western
Asia.
(Xinhua News Agency September 2, 2005)