China Township Enterprises Trade Fair opened Wednesday in Shangqiu, central China's Henan Province.

The trade fair, co-organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Henan provincial government, is another effort by the Chinese government to realize the development strategy in the west.

Buhe, vice-chairman of the National Peoples' Congress Standing Committee, said the fair at the turn of the century will accelerate cooperation and exchanges between western and eastern areas in economy, human resources, information and technology.

Township enterprises are playing an increasingly important role in the national economy, contributing to 30 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, 64 percent of the added value of the rural economy and 34 percent of the rural people's income.

Last month, China held a trade fair for township enterprises in Guiyang, provincial capital of Guizhou in southwest China, to push the cooperation of west and east China.