Xiamen in East China's Fujian province held an investment promotion conference for modern agriculture on July 3, according to local media.

A total of 18 modern agricultural projects with a total investment of 7.02 billion yuan ($1.02 billion) were signed during the conference.

The projects focused on plant breeding, agricultural finance, trading platforms, supply chains, agricultural science and technology, and cross-Straits integration in agriculture.

According to the municipal agricultural department, the projects will provide strong support for the development of modern agriculture in Xiamen.

Chen Qiuxiong, deputy Party secretary of Xiamen, said during the conference that as an ecological garden city, Xiamen is striving to develop industries related to agriculture, garden, and flowers, among others.

"Xiamen has issued a series of policies and measures to support agricultural business entities in a number of ways, and to encourage them to become bigger, stronger and better. The city will launch more effective policies for modern agricultural investment," said Chen.

In addition, 18 well-known entrepreneurs and experts in related industries were employed as modern agricultural investment consultants during the conference.