“Urumchi Negotiation Fair”and “Asia-Europe Expo”

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Urumchi Foreign Trade Negotiation Meeting(“Urumchi Negotiation Fair”for short) was held for 19 sessions since 1992, with total foreign economic and trade transaction amount of USD 39.65 billion, and domestic trade transaction amount of 158.506 billion yuan, and contracts were signed for 11,586 domestic economic and technological cooperation projects, with a total amount exceeding 940 billion yuan.

China-Asia-Europe Expo was developed on the basis of “Urumchi Negotiation Fair” The first China-Asia-Europe Expo was held in 2011, at which contracts for domestic cooperation projects and domestic trade were signed for a total amount of 793.026 billionyuan, and total foreign economic and trade transaction amount reached USD 5.506 billion. Atthe second Asia-Europe Expo held in 2012, participating countries and regions covered Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America and Oceania for the first time, all “bric countries”participated in exhibition, with a total of over 5,000 foreign enterprises and buyers, and more distinguished international features. At this expo, contracts for domesticcooperation projects and domestic trade were signed for a total amount of 906.22 billion yuan, an increase of 14.27% over the first session, and total foreign economic and trade transaction amount reached USD 6.241 billion, an increase of 13.35% over the first session.

After Urumchi Negotiation Fair was upgraded to Asia-Europe Expo, it became a more powerful platform for inviting investment and regional economic development, promoting the long-term economic exchange and cooperation of Xin jiang with provinces and municipalities in the east part of China and with countries in central, west and south Asia and in Europe, with quite important significance in pushing ahead the leap-forward development of economy in Xin jiang. Meanwhile, it has played an active role in promoting the international economic and trade cooperation and development, enhancing the economic and trade relations of Asian and European countries, speeding up the regional economic cooperation process and promoting the peace, prosperity, stability and joint development of the region.

Pushed by China-Asia-Europe Expo, in recent years, the foreign trade development in Xinjiang has come to the best period. In 2012, the foreign trade volume of Xinjiang reached USD 25.17 billion, an increase of 10.3% over the previous year,4.1 percentage points higher than the national average level; it actually utilized foreign investment of USD 408 million, an increase of 21.8%; and the turnover of foreign project contracting was USD 1.014 billion, an increase of 4.3%. Foreign trade, utilization of foreign investment and foreign economic and technological cooperation all created a best level in history. China-Asia-Europe Expo has become a golden name card of Xin jiang, and the role of Silk Road has been reestablished.

With this fair, business canvass work has been upgraded from accurate orientation to grouped industrial chain level, attracting many big enterprises and groups in China and overseas to Xin jiang. Development of emerging industries has promoted new industrialization and rapid growth of local economy. According to statistics, the amount of project contracts signed on this aspect on the Asia-Europe Expo was 59.785 billion yuan, accounting for 28.9% of the total amount of contracts signed, the contract amount for new type coal chemical projects and petroleum and chemical projects accounted for 51.55% of the total; and contract amount for modern service projects such as commercial trade and logistics, culture and tourism was 29.641 billion yuan, accounting for 14.33% of the total amount of contracts signed. The implementation of these projects will actively promote the economic restructuring and industrial upgrading in Xin jiang.

Over the years, with Urumchi Negotiation Fair held each year and its continuous upgrading,a large number of local enterprises in Xinjiang also kept on growing and marched to international market. Today, in the top 10 local enterprises in Xinjiang in terms of foreign direct investment, there are 4 with investment scale exceeding USD 100 million and 4 exceeding USD 60 million. In contracting overseas projects, backbone overseas project contracting teams such as Beixin Group, West Drilling, TBEA, Xinjiang No.3 Construction Company, Xin jiang Oilfield and Purpan Kumul Oilfield have been initially formed in Xinjiang. Meanwhile, some enterprises are actively trying running overseas projects with local employees, and the proportion of local employees in overseas projects has kept on increasing. By the end of 2011, local enterprises of Xin jiang had employed nearly 10,000 overseas employees, and their ability to cope with safety risks has obviously enhanced.

Exhibition fairs enabled Xinjiang to better play its role as an important hub in the new Eurasian continental bridge, producing not only economic gains, but also enlarged social effect, widening the vision of enterprises and people in Xin jiang and their access areas, and pushing the updating of concepts and transition of ideas; it also promoted upgrading the city grade, the improving the ethical quality of people, the construction of infrastructure and development of tourism, service and associated sectors in Xinjiang.

Asia-Europe Expo is not only a platform for Xinjiang to develop to the outside world, but also a platform for China to further go global. Xinjiang has become an important portal and base for China to open to the outside world. The Asia-Europe Expo has brought into play the geographic advantage of Xin jiang to link to the east and open to the west, and made it a platform of international exchange of the region, it is of quite important significance to expanding the all-round and multi-field cooperation with the outside, and is conducive to pushing ahead and shaping a new pattern of China opening to the outside world with parallel”land opening”and “coastal opening”.