Southwest China's Yunnan Province has benefited significantly from the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), said Zhu Dansheng, a provincial department of commerce official last week.

CIFIT, in the past nine sessions, has provided a business exchange platform for enterprises in Yunnan and its neighbouring countries, Zhu said.

Yunnan borders Myanmar, the Laos and Viet Nam and has positioned itself as a gateway for co-operation with the members of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

CIFIT has provided Yunnan with many opportunities and channels for economic co-operation with ASEAN and countries in South Asia, Zhu said.

The fair, held annually in Xiamen in East China's Fujian Province, has also served to bring Yunnan, as well as other regions on the mainland, and Taiwan closer economically, she said.

Taiwan is one of the five largest sources of overseas investment in Yunnan and one of the major markets of Yunnan-produced commodities, she said.

Taiwan's businesspeople have invested in the manufacturing, real estate, entertainment and agricultural sectors in Yunnan.

The symposiums and seminars held during CIFIT have provided useful information, especially in the exploration of mineral resources, the development of China's central and western regions, procurement by multinational companies in China and China's "going global" strategy, she said.

CIFIT has helped Yunnan boost its foreign trade and economic co-operation, Zhu said.

Exports of the province grew by 18 per cent year-on-year to US$2.64 billion and imports, by 39 per cent to US$2.1 billion last year.

The province approved 153 foreign-invested projects last year, with contractual foreign direct investment (FDI) rising by 43 per cent to US$456 million and actually utilized FDI increasing by 34 per cent to US$189 million.

The Yunnan delegation is now preparing for CIFIT to be held in September, Zhu said.

The delegation is expected to highlight the agricultural sector of the province at the fair.

Yunnan's expectation

With its land located between 74 metres and 6,700 metres above sea level, Yunnan enjoys a diversified climate and biological resources, including flowers, vegetables, tea and herbs.

The province hopes to introduce advanced technologies to upgrade its agricultural sector, seeing high-tech, electronics, machinery, and agriculture as the new growth areas in foreign economic co-operation.

Meanwhile, the delegation of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, plans to focus on the city's infrastructure construction, especially the renovation of its old urban areas, at the coming CIFIT, said Qi Jiang, director of the Kunming Investment Promotion Bureau.

Twenty-five such projects will be offered at the fair, focusing on roads, gas supply, solid waste treatment and the restoration of ancient towns, he said.

Contractual FDI into Kunming surged 329 per cent year-on-year to US$336.91 million in the first half of this year, accounting for 75 per cent of the total in Yunnan, Qi said.

Actually used FDI rose by 234 per cent to US$65.89 million during the period, making up 55 per cent of the province's total.