The China Changxing International Trade and Investment Exposition will take place from October 8 to 11 in Changxing County in East China's Zhejiang Province.
The trade and investment promotional event is jointly sponsored by People's Daily and Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc (Nikkei), a leading business news company in Japan, and organized by the county government.
The 11th Sino-Japanese Economic Forum, as part of the expo, will be held in Changxing on October 9, in an effort to promote trade and economic ties between the neighbouring countries. The forum will discuss Sino-Japanese economic co-operation during China's 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) period.
Discussion topics will include the emerging business opportunities in the financial services sector, the possibility of improving co-operation in environmental protection and agricultural industrialization.
The biennial event has been held 10 sessions since 1984. This will be the first time Changxing County will host it.
Changxing was picked because of its economic strength and booming foreign investment. It ranked among top 100 counties in Chinese mainland.
In 2005, the county's production value increased by 15 per cent, its finance revenue grew by 20.49 per cent and per capita income grew by 13.5 per cent, compared with figures from 2004.
The county's economic development zone has tried to fully mobilize every possible positive factor to attract projects and solve development problems, an effort which has paid off.
From January to April this year, six projects were agreed bringing foreign capital of US$10.1 million, of which US$5.75million was actually finalized.
Going abroad is the key for the county's increasing foreign investment, much of which comes from Europe, the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Face-to-face contact
"Approaching investors in foreign countries face-to-face means they can get more first-hand investment information about Changxing," said Wang Qingzhong, deputy-chief of the Changxing county government.
For instance, Osaka, the second largest city in Japan, is home to Changxing's first outbound liaison office for foreign investment, which was established two years ago.
"Everyday I work really hard to contact the Japanese enterprises to help them find out about our county," said Yu Leida, vice-director of the county's investment promotion bureau, who is stationed in Osaka.
Speaking fluent Japanese and English, Yu attends conferences and exhibitions throughout Osaka. As a result of his work, the Japanese investment industrial park was established in Changxing.
Attractions
Improving efficiency is crucial for Changxing's rapid development. "Efficiency leads to competitiveness and mirrors the image and potential of our county," Liu Guofu, secretary of the Changxing Committee of the Communist Party of China, said in a recent television and telephone conference.
For example, the Changxing Administrative Service Centre has been elected a model unit in terms clients' satisfaction. It is the only institution in
Huzhou City to receive such an honour.
In terms of enterprises' registration and the approval of infrastructure projects, the administrative centre only takes an average of 3.9 days to finish all the procedures.
Rich human resources and skilled workers are also beneficial for investors from home and abroad, as well as the sustainable development of the local economy.
To improve the talent pool, the Changxing county government has adopted preferential policies to attract human resources.
Earlier this month, 48 senior experts who had signed work contracts for at least five years in Changxing were offered houses at favourable prices.
The offer of affordable housing is only part of the county's gestures to lure more professionals in recent two years. Last October, six hotel management apartment buildings, including 50 apartments, were completed to solve the shortage of housing for newly migrated talents. So far, about 30 people have moved into the buildings.
Statistics show that about 10 government institutions and 11 enterprises are building houses for senior experts. In total the completed construction area has reached 27,000 square metres, while another 26,100 square metres is under construction.
Location is one of Changxing's great advantages. Changxing County is at the centre of the Yangtze River Delta. It is on the southwest bank of Taihu Lake, bordering Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces.
It has rich natural resources and a longstanding cultural heritage. It has been honoured as "the realm of fish and rice," "the hometown of silk," "the land of culture," and "the distinguished county in East China."
Changxing is also known as home to tea culture. According to legends, Lu Yu, an ancient tea expert, finished his book Tea Classics there.
The 10th International Tea Cultural Research Forum is planned to kick off in the county in 2008.
It is also the transport centre of the Yangtze River Delta. The delta is one of the most economically advanced regions in China, home to 52 large and medium-sized cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi,
Ningbo and Wuhu, with 73 million residents.
The county, with a total area of 1,430 square kilometres and a population of 620,000, is an ancient city with a history stretching back more than 1,700 years. It dates back to 282 AD when it was founded in the third year of Emperor Taikang's reign in the Jin Dynasty (265-420).
