The press conference on the 23rd CIFIT is held in Beijing on August 22 (XINHUA) 

The 23rd China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) will take place in Xiamen, Fujian Province in southeast China, from September 8 to 11. Since the first CIFIT was launched in the city in 1997, the event has become one of the most influential international investment events in the world.

Around 1, 000 business groups and some 80,000 businesspeople from nearly 100 countries and regions are expected to participate in the upcoming CIFIT, on site and online. There will be three guests of honor: Brazil, Serbia and Qatar, marking the highest number of such countries in a single edition.

The CIFIT is dedicated to creating platforms for promoting international investment, providing authoritative information and discussing investment trends, said Assistant Minister of Commerce Chen Chunjiang at the press conference on August 22.

The exhibition area this year will cover 120,000 square meters, featuring hot topics such as smart manufacturing, digital economy, green and low-carbon technologies and rural revitalization.

This CIFIT will also publish a series of authoritative reports, providing professional investment information.

The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and other government departments will host a series of activities, creating a platform for Chinese enterprises in cross-border investment cooperation.

Liu Dianxun, Director General of the MOFCOM’s Investment Promotion Agency told Beijing Review that the CIFIT platform will “be a source of information and resources both in terms of quantity and quality.”

He added than more than 50 conferences and forums are expected to take place during this CIFIT. One highlight is the Leading China·International Emerging Industries Innovation and Development Conference.    

Launched in 2021, the conference aims to achieve better results through promoting communication between participants, and integrating exhibitions, project roadshows and business negotiations inside an 8,000-square-meter venue.

Last year, the CIFIT inaugurated an exhibition area featuring China’s investment hotspot cities (cities attractive to foreign investment), with a first batch of 18 cities demonstrating their appeal to investors.

Vice Mayor of Xiamen Zhuang Rongliang revealed that this year’s CIFIT will feature the second batch of such cities as well as issue the 2023 China Investment Hotspot Cities Report.

Wang Jinfu, Vice Governor of Fujian Province said at the press conference that CIFIT will also host various forums themed on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a China-proposed initiative that aims to boost connectivity along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes. Thirty-six BRI countries have so far confirmed their participation in this year’s CIFIT.      

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

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