Opening ceremony for last year's Cross-Straits Fair for Economy and Trade.
The annual cross-Straits Economy and Trade Fair is considered by many in Fuzhou, the host city, to be the "golden key" opening the door to foreign direct investment (FDI) and, ultimately, global fortune.
No wonder, since over the past 12 years, the fair has brought billions of dollars in investment capital to this coastal city, in Fujian province. Because it opens on May 18, it is generally referred to as the "5.18" event.
The fair has served as a landing pad for some major companies such as carmaker Daimler-Benz, joint venture company Soueast Motor, and monitor manufacturer AOC.
These have in turn led to industrial clusters covering electric information, automobiles and auto parts, machines and equipment, metallurgy, textiles, shipbuilding and foodstuff.
Another offshoot is that Fuzhou is becoming a competitive manufacturing center in the middle of cross-Straits cooperation.
And the fair has helped the city with its own opening-up.
Previously, it was rare to see Fortune 500 companies in Fuzhou. Now, 86 members of this club - including Exxon Mobil, software developer Oracle, IT giant Cisco and retailer Tesco -have facilities in the city.
A parallel development has been the discovery of FDI sources. Thanks to its location, Fuzhou has good economic exchanges with Japan to the north, and Southeast Asia to the south and closer at hand, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
And those sources now even extend to Europe, North America and Latin America, bringing the total number of countries and regions to 57.
This year's fair, which begins today, is expected to account for 116 foreign investment projects worth a total of $2.06 billion, another sign of the vigor in the city's economic development.
The fair is expected to attract 240 trade delegations, with more than 3,000 businesspeople.
Agreements signed at previous fairs focused on textiles, footwear, plastics and other labor-intensive industries.
More recently, they have covered a wider range of categories: electronics, automobiles, high-tech developments, headquarters economy, business services, creativity, and emerging sectors.
Meeting of old friends
Friends, as we all know, can help a person grow, and the same is true of a city, for its development.
And Fuzhou has benefited from the annual event by attracting people from around the world.
One example of this has been the Thai government, which, since 2001, has made its exhibition a part of the fair annually.
Another is the St Petersburg, Russia trade delegation, which came in 2002. In addition, the European Union set up a representative office in Fuzhou, in 2005, and Singapore made its fair debut with a pavilion in 2009, with more than 100 Singaporean companies and a uniquely branded show.
"The fair has seen a joint effort on the road to common prosperity. We have an appointment with Fuzhou, today," said Zheng Meile, Singapore's general consul in Xiamen.
Zheng's comment reflected the growing enthusiasm of the fair's participants.
As if to match the growing enthusiasm from abroad, interest of businesspeople closer to home has been growing as well.
Taiwanese companies had around 900 exhibits last year, on a 19,000-square-meter space, setting a record at the fair.
Business folk in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province - known for its dynamic private economy - see the fair as a can't-miss item. Thousands of people from Zhejiang take part in it every year.
The fair has also increased trade and economic cooperation with the interior, with cities in Fujian, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces.
And the city's image continues to grow. The event has attracted hundreds of thousands of people from nearly 100 countries.
And with that has come a growing awareness of its competitiveness.
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