The 5th Western China International Fair was held in Chengdu, Sichuan from May 25 to 28, 2004. The fair was co-hosted by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, and Sichuan Provincial People’s Government.

 

Wu Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, sent a congratulatory letter to the conference, expressing warm congratulations to the opening of WCIF, affirming the positioning, theme and functions of WCIF, and putting forward clear requirements for the further success of WCIF. Zeng Peiyan, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, attended and announced the opening of the fair. Simayi Amat, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Bai Lichen and Li Meng, Vice Chairmen of the CPPCC, attended the opening ceremony of the fair and visited the exhibition. More than 10 foreign ministerial dignitaries and 9 ambassadors to China attended the fair and delivered speeches at relevant forums. More than 20 domestic provincial and ministerial leaders attended the fair. More than 2,000 overseas merchants from 48 countries and regions, more than 6,000 guests from 29 domestic provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, more than 12,000 representatives from Sichuan and more than 150,000 visitors participated in the exhibition and fair.

 

The on-site trade turnover of the fair reached 730 million yuan, the value of the signed trade contracts reached 11.28 billion yuan, and the value of the signed trade agreements reached 7.3 billion yuan. The fair showed notable results in investment promotion. During the fair, 270 investment project contracts were signed with a total contract amount of 25.458 billion yuan and a total of 18.982 billion yuan of funds were introduced. Among them, 125 contract projects were signed with guests outside the province and foreign countries, with a total investment of 12.742 billion yuan. Funds of 10.804 billion yuan were introduced from outside the province and country. 18 agreement projects were signed with the guests from outside the province and foreign countries, with a total investment of 3.463 billion yuan, and 3.415 billion yuan of funds were introduced by the agreements. 

 

The total exhibition area reached 45,000 square meters, and the space-unit booths accounted for 85% of the exhibition area. The content and form of eight professional pavilions and two regional pavilions were innovated. Professional forums such as “Financial Reform and Enterprise Development”, “Insurance Services for Agriculture, Rural Areas and Farmers”, “Chinese Merchants Western Investment”, “Sino-US International Management” and other professional forums were rich in content and held in a high standard.

 

Economic and trade exchange events such as “Thailand Event Day”, “Myanmar Event Day”, “Western China-Southeast Asia Cooperation Forum & Economic and Trade Fair”, “Southeast Asian Cultural Tourism Promotion Conference”, “International Procurement Event”, and “Western China-Korea Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry Cooperation and Development Seminar & Fair” led to the signing of a large number of projects and cooperation agreements.