By Huang Zhiling (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-11-18 10:08

CHENGDU: The two-day 5th China Investment Climate Forum, with the theme of coordinating urban and rural development and government innovation, kicked off yesterday in this capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The forum has drawn more than 300 representatives from the related departments of the central government, financial institutions, multi-national companies and enterprises.

The high-ranking officials concerned and experts from the National Development and Reform Commission and the People's Bank of China attended and addressed it.

Ge Honglin, mayor of Chengdu, made a key-note speech entitled "The Thought and Practice of Coordinated Rural and Urban Development" in Chengdu for the forum.

David Dollar, director of China and Mongolia Bureau of the World Bank, released the Analyzing Report on Investment Climate in China Cities, which makes a ranking to Chinese cities and gives a detailed explanation of the advantages and potentials of each of the cities.

Wang Yousheng, deputy director of China's State Information Center, made public the Evaluation Report on the Investment Climate and Competitiveness of Chengdu at the forum yesterday.

According to investigations made among domestic enterprises, Chengdu ranks first among 58 cities in central and western China in terms of the investment climate, while in investigations made among foreign enterprises, Chengdu ranks 13, the reports said.

The forum, jointly sponsored by the World Bank, the State Information Center and the International Cooperation Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, has been held 5 times, in Beijing, Changsha, Jiangmen, Hangzhou and Chengdu, since December 2002.