New Energy: An electric vehicle in the BYD Auto booth draws a crowd. Clean energy was one of the focuses of the forum this year (LI YIBO)

"West China has many advantages when it comes to relocating advanced technologies and industries from the expensive coastal provinces and attracting foreign investment," said Bai Yongxiu, Dean of the School of Economics and Management at the Xi'an-based Northwest University, during the 2011 ITFCEW.

It also has an abundance of natural resources. For instance, 60 percent of the country's mineral resources and 57 percent of its energy resources are in west China and it's also a hotspot when it comes to education, human resources and other technologies, said Bai.

West China has been luring greater numbers of foreign investors to funnel their money in recent years. Last year, foreign direct investment (FDI) to west China rose by 26.9 percent year on year, higher than the 15.8-percent increase in the east, said the Ministry of Commerce.

"Priority will be placed on attracting more foreign investment in the next five years," Jing Junhai, Vice Governor of Shaanxi Province, said at the 2011 ITFCEW.

Green goals

Exhibitions of the 2011 ITFCEW also emphasized green-model economic development. In the pavilion for energy conservation and environmental protection, 220 booths were designated for enterprises with green technologies or products.

"In the 12th Five-Year Plan, the wetland industry is bound to be attractive since it will find a balance between economic construction and ecological development," said Qin Hong, General Manager of Beijing Century Sci-Tech Co. Ltd., which has been engaged in man-made wetland technology for 10 years and has more than 30 patented technologies in man-made wetland. "The ecological wetland industry will be formed when wetland technology is combined with other environmental protection technologies and complementary industries," he said.

"We've done most of the job in terms of ecological improvement in Xi'an Chan-ba Ecological District, the site of the 2011 World Horticultural Exposition to be held at the end of April. The main concept and design of Chan-ba's national wetland park were created by us," Qin said. "Our technology has gained recognition from governments, companies and institutions in western regions. We came to this year's ITFCEW to introduce it to even more organizations in west China."

"We're here for two reasons. First, we want to promote our products. Shaanxi Province has preferential policies for the new energy industry, which is good for its faster development," said Wang Xiaowu, Assistant to General Manager of the Xi'an Branch of Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd., which sells solar energy products and photovoltaic power system application and photovoltaic power system LED lighting. The company also provided the lighting system at the 2011 World Horticultural Exposition.

"Second, we want to inform more people about new energy. Most people are surprised by its application since they've never seen it before or didn't know how it can be used," Wang said.

West China has realized a comparatively fast growth rate in the past decade thanks to the country's Western Development Strategy initiated in 2000. Official figures show from 1999 to 2008, the western regions maintained an annual average GDP growth of 11.42 percent, higher than national average level of 9.64 percent.

But, the fast growth relied on high energy and resources consumption and created high levels of carbon emissions, said Wei Houkai, Deputy Director of the Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, at a conference during the 2011 ITFCEW.

"It is a painful but crucial change to achieve further development while easing the conflict between economic growth and the environment," Wei said. "The western region should adopt effective energy-saving and environmental protection technologies and extend its industrial chains."