The Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Commerce held a debriefing session on Sept 13 to review its work at the 26th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT).

The meeting provided a comprehensive summary of the efforts of the bureau's various working groups during this year's fair, highlighted useful practices and the lessons learned, and examined the bottlenecks and challenges encountered.

The 26th CIFIT was held for the first time at the Xiamen International Expo Center, the meeting noted. This year's fair stood out for its greater international reach, stronger professional focus, and more prominent digital and smart features.

It set new records in terms of exhibition area, the number of participating countries, and the number of delegations, injecting fresh momentum into deeper international investment cooperation and providing a higher starting point for mutually beneficial outcomes.

The bureau's working groups reviewed their key tasks — guest invitations, investment promotion, matchmaking and business talks, overseas resource connections, and outbound investment facilitation — along with support services including overall coordination, conference and exhibition logistics, and customs clearance.

The meeting praised the groups' work and urged them to draw out what worked, dig deeper into the bottlenecks encountered during preparations, and propose improvements. These should be addressed one by one on a checklist basis, turning this year's lessons into lasting practices and laying solid groundwork for the next fair.