The 24th China International Fair for Investment and Trade is held in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, from Sept 8 to 11. [Photo/Xiamen Daily]

The 24th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), with the theme of "Investing for an Interconnected World", came to a close in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, on Sept 11.

The event offered up an autumn feast of global investment, with 120 countries and regions, 18 international organizations, over 1,000 domestic and foreign government agencies and business groups, and nearly 80,000 merchants participating in the exhibition and conference. They gathered to seek global investment opportunities and devise global development strategies.

According to preliminary statistics, cooperation agreements were reached on 688 projects during the conference, with a total planned investment of 488.92 billion yuan ($68.74 billion).

Implementing the Global Development Initiative

This year's CIFIT hosted the Exhibition of Global Development Cooperation and the Exhibition of China's Outward Investment and Cooperation for the first time, showcasing the achievements of "Chinese investment" and "Chinese construction". It also set up a 10,000-square-meter exhibition area for the new industrial revolution in BRICS countries, providing new opportunities for expanding cooperation on international investment.

Among the 120 countries and regions participating in the exhibition, about 80 percent are involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. Regular participants Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan achieved a series of fruitful results.

The Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center, the host venue of the CIFIT, gathers many exhibitors from both domestic and international locations. [Photo/Xiamen Daily]

Attracting high-quality foreign investment

The main theme at this year's fair, "Invest in China", is clearer than ever before. The fair has added a 13,000-square-meter dedicated "Invest in China" area in the project capital docking hall, attracting 33 international financial institutions and over 100 high-quality small and medium-sized enterprises and projects from countries and regions such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, France, the United States, and Singapore.

Additionally, 14 national-level economic development zones participated, creating a fusion of exhibitions and negotiations and providing a diverse platform for various parties to connect and communicate.

Sharing opportunities in the vast Chinese market

The CIFIT is a barometer of China's outbound investment and foreign investment attraction. Against this backdrop, this year's fair invited all 32 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, including the guest province of honor, Zhejiang, to showcase investment policies, business environment, key industries, investment projects, and advantageous products.

This year, the further optimized and upgraded "Cloud CIFIT" introduced an AI intelligent pre-matchmaking function, released over 3,000 investment projects, and promoted the integration of offline and online investment promotion, both inside and outside the fair, effectively enhancing the efficiency of investment negotiations.