An official from Hsinchu, Taiwan, greets two representatives from the China International Trade and Investment Fair (CIFIT) as they arrive in Hsinchu to attend a promotional conference for the 2017 edition of the fair on Feb 17. [Photo/chinafair.org.cn]

A delegation from the organizing committee of China’s biggest international investment promotion event, the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), travelled to Taiwan on Feb 17 to attend a promotional conference for the fair and to discuss deepening cross-Straits industrial ties with their counterparts in Taiwan.

More than 40 representatives from major Taiwan industrial groups attended the conference in Hsinchu, including senior figures from the World Trade Center in Taichung, the Allied Association for Science Park Industries in Taiwan, and ELAN Microelectronics Corp.

The delegation took the opportunity to promote the CIFIT, which is held in Xiamen, Fujian province each September, as well as the Xiamen International Industrial Exposition (XMIE), another major industrial exhibition that takes place in the same city each April.

Also known as the China Xiamen Machinery and Electronics Exhibition (CXMEE), the XMIE is exclusively authorized by China’s Ministry of Commerce with co-sponsorship from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronics Products, Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association, and Xiamen Municipal People’s Government, and has played a key role in developing cross-Straits economic and trade ties since its establishment in 1997.

Wang Qiongwen, vice-minister of the CIFIT organizing committee’s conference affairs department and director of the Xiamen convention and exhibition bureau, delivered a keynote speech at the promotion conference.

Wang firstly gave a detailed report about the preparations for the 2017 editions of the CIFIT and the XMIE, as well as an overview of recent developments in Xiamen’s economy and society. He encouraged businesses based in Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park to seize the opportunities offered by the two Xiamen fairs in 2017 and expand their market presence in the Chinese mainland, and promised to create favorable circumstances to push ahead cross-Straits connections.

Li Rongmin, head of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products’s Taipei office, also gave a speech at the conference. He spoke of the roles both fairs play in providing business opportunities for local enterprises and stimulating cross-Straits industrial cooperation, thanks to the efforts of the Xiamen convention and exhibition bureau.

The Allied Association for Science Park Industries in Taiwan and Cross-Straits Human Resources and Sci-tech Industries Association promised to encourage greater involvement of regional suppliers in the fairs, and push more firms to settle in Xiamen.

After the conference, the group from the CIFIT was given tours of the World Trade Center in Taichung, the Allied Association for Science Park Industries in Taiwan, ELAN Microelectronics Corp, and several other well-known local business associations and organizations.

Wang Qiongwen (left), vice-minister of the CIFIT organizing committee’s conference affairs department and director of the Xiamen convention and exhibition bureau, participates in a promotional conference held in Hsinchu city, Taiwan, China, on Feb 17. [Photo/chinafair.org.cn]