CHONGQING, China, May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from iChongqing - Chongqing - The Fifth Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade (WCIFIT) Opening Ceremony and the 2023 CCI-ILSTC International Cooperation Forum commenced in Southwest China's Chongqing on May 18.

With 13 exhibition halls covering 180,000 square meters this year, the largest in history, the WCIFIT has set the annual theme of "Inland China Opening-up & Innovative Development Driven by Digital Technology," featuring two major thematic exhibition areas focused on investment, trade and industry promotion.

Malaysia is the guest country of honor, and China's Sichuan and Gansu provinces are the guest provinces.

During the WCIFIT, Chongqing signed 84 projects worth a contract investment of 285.415 billion yuan (about USD 40.69 billion). The investment projects of centrally-managed enterprises include the joint construction of advanced manufacturing clusters, digital economy industries in western China and energy development and utilization.

"To foster digital connectivity and streamline customs procedures, Singapore's and China's customs authorities have linked up the National Single Window systems to enable the electronic exchange of trade documents and data," said Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of National Development & Ministry of Communications and Information, Singapore.

The 2023 CCI-ILSTC International Cooperation Forum saw guests from Singapore, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam and other countries discussing how to build the linkage between western China and the world through the New International Land-sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC).

Vilaykham Phosalath, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport of Laos, stated that the China-Laos Railway plays a significant role in goods transportation between the two countries. It also provides great convenience to ASEAN countries for cross-border transport, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and Singapore.

At the forum, the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing released the 2022 Development Index of the ILSTC, highlighting three aspects: development scale, quality and competitiveness.

Data shows that the 2022 Development Index of the ILSTC was 135.2, increased by 10.3% and 32.5% compared to 2021 and 2020 respectively.

During the four-day conference, more than 900 enterprises and 186 guests from 40 countries and regions as well as 29 provincial regions and two special administrative regions in China gathered in Chongqing to participate in a series of events, including the "Invest in China" Western Region Special Promotion Event and the 2023 Forbes China Urban Consumption Development Forum.

For more, please visit: https://www.ichongqing.info/special/the-5th-wcifit/