Fair to promote Sichuan-Chongqing ties

A three-day fair aimed at enhancing investment and trade with the neighboring Chongqing municipality will be held in the city of Guang'an in Sichuan province from October 20 to 22.

According to Guang'an deputy mayor Chen Jie, projects worth more than 125 billion yuan (nearly $19 billion) will seek investors at the fair.

The projects involve fields such as high-end equipment manufacturing, fine chemicals and new materials, the deputy major said.

Located in the northeast of Sichuan, Guang'an is best known as the hometown of the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, chief architect of China's reform and open policies.

Bordering Chongqing, the city has been designated by the central government as a demonstration zone for co-operation between Sichuan and Chongqing.

It is based in Gaotan town, Linshui county in Guang'an, and was set up in 2013.

Some 40 firms have based themselves in the zone. More than 90 percent of them are from Chongqing.

"The overwhelming majority of the firms produce auto parts for auto makers in Chongqing," said Li Jun, a leading official overseeing the zone.

More than 80 percent of the machinery manufacturing and electronic information firms in Guang'an make products exclusively for firms in Chongqing, according to the Guang’an municipal government.

In June, government departments in Sichuan and Chongqing signed an agreement to allow Guang'an to be Chongqing's first choice when it transfers its auto, equipment manufacturing and electronic information sectors to the outside.