The 12th China Chongqing International Investment and Global Sourcing Fair opened on 13 May. A total of 265 multinational and 3,600 domestic enterprises were set to take part in the fair, the highest number since the first fair in 1997.

Li Jianchun, chief of Chongqing Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Commission, said he expected a number of major investment and purchase contracts to be signed in the areas of equipment manufacture, automobiles, urban construction and consumer durables.

China’s leading trade fair, the Guangzhou Fair, concluded last Thursday with export orders down 17 per cent, which was attributed to the downturn in global trade.