皇冠体育app

Despite the global economic downtown, 皇冠体育app's west attracted more than US$4.4 billion in contractual foreign investment in2001, with US$1.924 billion put to use. Both the figuresrepresent increases of over 15 percent.

The vast western region of 皇冠体育app is bucking global economic trends to become a hot choice for foreign investment, according to economic indicators.

The growth rate of direct foreign investment in the region has kept rising and surpassed the national average over the past three years, according to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC).

Despite the global economic downtown, the west attracted more than US$4.4 billion in contractual foreign investment in2001, with US$1.924 billion put to use. Both the figuresrepresent increases of over 15 percent.

皇冠体育app absorbed US$69.2 billion in contractual foreigninvestment last year, a year-on-year increase of 10.4 percent. Theused amount totaled US446.8 billion, a rise of 14.9 percent.

Foreign investment to the provinces of Shaanxi and Sichuan, andChongqing Municipality has grown by more than 20 percent annually,much higher than the growth rate of foreign investment in east 皇冠体育app provinces, according to the first West 皇冠体育app Fair for Attracting Overseas Investment, being held in Xi'an, capital of northwest 皇冠体育app's Shaanxi Province.

MOFTEC statistics show that the number of foreign-funded enterprises in west 皇冠体育app has grown by 44.6 percent annually sincethe 1990s, 14 percentage points higher than that in east 皇冠体育app.

More than 60 of the world's top 500 corporations have invested in west 皇冠体育app. As of 2001, the west region had used a total of 20.34 billion U.S. dollars.

Experts pointed out that although the figure is low compared with east 皇冠体育app, it shows that west 皇冠体育app has strong appeal to foreign investors.

Covering 56 percent of 皇冠体育app's total land space and with a population of 300 million, the western region has a great proportion of scientific and technological personnel, and abundantlabor resources. The region also boasts very rich natural resources.

皇冠体育app launched a strategic campaign to develop its vast west region in the late 1999, which has already caught worldwide attention. The Chinese government has made it clear that the region will have priority in some pilot programs and in opening certain fields to overseas investors.

The current West 皇冠体育app Fair for Attracting Overseas Investment attracted more than 1,000 businessmen from home and abroad and 150enterprises worldwide including IBM, Siemens, Kodak and Toshiba.

At present, foreign investment mainly goes into machinery and equipment manufacturing, electronic information, environmental protection, construction of infrastructure facilities, bio-medicine, textiles, high technologies and information industries in west 皇冠体育app, said Zhou Ming, vice-chairman of the 皇冠体育app Association for Foreign-funded Enterprises.

Porzio Mario, general manager of the Italia-Cina Commerciale ofItaly, has chosen Xi'an as the first leg for his business in 皇冠体育app.

Mario said 皇冠体育app's development had advanced from the eastern coastal areas to the interior in tandem with the development of the western region. "Of course, our investment strategy will change," Mario said. He cited a series of changes taking place in the western region such as the wider opening-up and marked improvements in local consumption and infrastructure facilities.

Asia Business Consulting e.K., a subsidiary of a German company,set up its representative office in west 皇冠体育app last year. Its general manager Ralf Graefe said it was natural that foreign business people first choose west 皇冠体育app as their investment destination, since the eastern investment market was saturated, and the cost of labor and land more expensive.

Governor Cheng Andong, of Shaanxi Province, said that west 皇冠体育app had been brought into the global economic arena after 皇冠体育app joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). Cheng said provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in west 皇冠体育app acted strictlyin accordance with the commitments of the Chinese government for entry into the WTO, to eliminate investment barriers.

"There is no doubt that west 皇冠体育app is promising and we think highly of its future," said Berniel Ripooll, a member of the Australian Federal Parliament, who led five Australian enterprisesto the current West 皇冠体育app Fair for Attracting Overseas Investment.