The third Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade (WCIFIT) launched on May 20 in Southwest China's Chongqing and lasted for four days, introducing 359 projects worth 357.82 billion yuan ($53.67 billion) to the municipality.

More than 40 countries and regions, 26 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities and more than 4,100 enterprises were invited to participate in the feast.

Giving full play to the platform's role in investment and business cooperation, many provinces and autonomous regions, including Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Sichuan province and Guizhou province, held more than 100 business attraction and matchup activities.

Contracts signed at the fair's signing ceremony covered 20 fields, including IT, high-end equipment, bio-tech and clean energy.

Three obvious characteristics stood out during the contract-signing activity. For one, it is clear that big companies see huge potential in West China, as demonstrated by the keen interest and exploration of the region by large-scale central government-owned enterprises – such as Dongfang Electric Corporation and HKC Co, Fortune 500 firms and notable private corporations.

The second characteristic is that advanced manufacturing was among the dominant industries, with 48 project contracts signed with total investments of 120.98 billion yuan.

In addition, the green industry, which focuses on low-carbon development, has grown in popularity.

During the fair, projects signed by Liangjiang New Area involved a gross investment of 3.3 billion yuan, injecting new energy into Liangjiang's auto manufacturing industry, intelligent terminal and cultural sectors.

The fair also invited 21 guests to deliver themed speeches in which 46 enlightening opinions and 35 practical suggestions were put forward.