CHENGDU, China, Sept. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A total of 788.3 billion yuan ($114.9 billion) worth of investment deals were struck at the 17th Western China International Fair (WCIF).

Sichuan province, the host of the fair, signed 736 billion yuan worth of investment deals, up 12 percent year-on-year, the information office of Sichuan provincial government said at a press conference on Tuesday, 25th, September.

The other participating regions, including Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang and Gansu, signed 52.3 billion yuan worth of deals, it said.

The five-day fair, which closed on Monday, 24th, September, attracted over 60,000 businessmen from 90 countries and regions around the world.

Luigi Di Maio, Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Economic Development, Labor and Social Policies, led an entourage consisting of representatives from 55 Italian enterprises to the fair.

He said the Italian government regards the country as an important European destination of China's Belt and Road Initiative, which opens a broader space for cooperation.

Italy, as the Guest Country of Honor at the fair, had a 1,200-square meter exhibition area with exhibitors from a wide range of fields including health, technology and innovation, clean energy, tourism, agriculture and food.

The expo also provided a pavilion of 100,000 square meters specifically for Belt and Road cooperation, attracting more than 200 companies from 31 countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

First launched in 2000, the WCIF has become an important platform for western China to promote investment and trade with coastal regions and overseas partners.

For more information, please contact Luxi YANG, yangluxi@wcif.cn.

SOURCE Organizing Committee of Western China International Fair