The organizers of the annual China International Fair for Investment & Trade, held in Xiamen, recently gathered in Beijing to make plans for September's upcoming fair.

The fair, held every year in Xiamen, Fujian province, is sponsored by China's Commerce Ministry and is an important platform for promoting investment and trade in China and abroad.

Liu Dianxun, director of the investment promotion agency at the ministry presided over the meeting, which was attended by assistant minister of commerce Liu Haiquan, vice-governor of Fujian Liang Jianyong and mayor of Xiamen Pei Jinjia, and deputy mayor of Xiamen Ni Chao – four members of the fair's organizing committee.

Ni delivered the work plan for the 2016 fair and briefed the participants on the preparations that have been carried out.

Liu Haiquan said that amid the many challenges faced by the global economy, including China's economic slowdown, the fair as China's most influential trade fair should maintain its focus on innovation, cooperation, green development and openness to facilitate China's supply side reform and help raise investment efficiency.

Liu Haiquan also called for the fair's organizers to work together to explore new approaches to build the fair into a more market-oriented, professional event for international investors.

Liang said that 2016 will mark the 20th session of the fair, which has been growing in scale, richness and influence among global business personnel over the years and helped boost investment activities between China and foreign economies. Liang said that the organizers will tighten cooperation with other global organizations, make the fair more professional to reflect the new trends in global economy including China's national development strategy.

According to Liang, the fair will invite more experts from different fields to offer professional opinions, offer more diversified investment targets and make branding a priority in the fair's operation.

Pei said that Xiamen's transportation infrastructure has seen significant improvement in recent years, which makes business travel to Xiamen more convenient, and the strengthened city planning and exhibition facilities make the city a better choice for hosting large international trade fairs. Pei also pledged that the government will do more to level up public service to meet the needs of exhibitors and other business personnel who are expected to attend the fair.

Edited by Owen Fishwick