Gala opens import zone Tuesday,September 04,2007 Posted: 16:33 BJT(0833 GMT)  China Daily The upcoming CIFIT will, for the first time, devote 2,000 sq m to an import commodities exhibition in a bid to boost trade balance. Huang Ling, vice mayor of Xiamen and a top official of the CIFIT organizing committee, said the allocation of 2,000 sq m for the import exhibition in this year's CIFIT, to be held from September 8 to 11 in Xiamen, aims at establishing two-way investment in order to seek trade balance. The move is expected to introduce good-quality foreign goods to the Chinese market and boost their ability to tap it, thus balancing China's imports and exports, according to an official of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), sponsor of the trade gala. Fair organizers are sparing no efforts in encouraging foreign countries to showcase their trademark products for Chinese consumers. At present, foreign exhibitors are very active in booking booths in the exhibition area, with half of the area already booked to date, Huang said at a promotion event for CIFIT in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, last week. Exhibitors from 44 countries and regions, including Turkey, Thailand, the United States, South Africa, Nigeria, Poland, Finland and Italy have confirmed their presence in the import commodities area. Apart from this, the CIFIT is committed to encouraging enterprises to go overseas and is dedicated to building a platform for them. A series of forums and matchmaking events will be staged during the fair, aimed at encouraging more Chinese companies to invest overseas.

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