Highlights of 2018 CIFIT revealed at Beijing promotional conference

The highlights of 2018 CIFIT to be held in Xiamen, Fujian province from Sept 8 to 11 was uncovered at its Beijing promotional conference on April 18.

Wang Qiongwen, member of the CIFIT's organizing committee and director of Xiamen Bureau of Conference and Exhibition Affairs, introduced its improvements at the promotional conference.

Exhibitions will be further enriched in content. An exhibition area with the theme of "Belt and Road Initiative and BRICS Cooperation" is set to be established and new economic forms will be focused on by the 2018 CIFIT. Investment exhibitions regarding emerging industries, we-media, and copyright will be set up in investment promotion pavilion for the first time.

Function as information release will be further enhanced. Some 80 investment-related forums are expected to be organized during the 2018 CIFIT. China's Ministry of Commerce, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Investment Association of China and other organizations will release their authoritative reports at the fair, such as Report on Foreign Investment Index in China, World Investment Report and Report on E-commerce Development in China.

More international resources will be available for the 2018 CIFIT. World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), one of the co-sponsors, plans to hold this year's World Investment Conference during the fair and 70 ministerial leaders from other countries will be invited to attend the conference.

Project matchmaking activities will be more precise. The project matchmaking activities will be integrated with exhibitions, conferences, forums and other supporting activities and the exchanges between key industries's investors and project holders will be further enhanced.

The CIFIT actually has been dedicated to seeking improvement over the past five years, according to Wang.

To improve Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. As of now, CIFIT's CRM system has had approximately 200,000 customers, including 800 business associations, 500 multinational corporations, 2,000 state-owned and large scale private enterprises, and 4,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises.

To launch online CIFIT and series event "Investment Nationwide". By establishing an online CIFIT and organizing investors to seek potential investment projects in key cities and industrial parks, CIFIT is capable of helping registered projects seek appropriate investors and vise versa at any time and in any place.

To continue focusing on investment. Investment has always been the theme of all previous CIFITs, which serves as a platform where international investment is promoted, authoritative information is released and international investment trend is discussed.

Each CIFIT will establish pavilions with an area of 120,000 square meters and will be themed on investment promotion and industrial investment and hold nearly 100 meetings.

In 2017, CIFIT witnessed the signing of 1,577 investment projects worth 532.7 billion yuan ($81.0 billion) and attracted more than 100,000 domestic and foreign business representatives from 107 countries and regions, 4,000 domestic and foreign enterprises, nearly 700 business groups, and 40 multinational corporations.