Some 500 overseas Chinese, government officials, development zone authorities and academics took part in the 2016 Summit of Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs' Investment in China, on Sept 7.

The summit was part of this year's CIFIT, held at the Xiamen International Conference Center in Xiamen, Fujian province.

It was initiated in 2007 and serves as a window for overseas Chinese to get to grips with the latest economic and social movements in China. This year, the summit was given a theme of "Innovating Together, Developing Together." It aimed to help overseas Chinese engage with investment opportunities prompted by the national enthusiasm for innovation and entrepreneurship.

As the host city, Xiamen has made great effort to facilitate technological innovation-based industrial development in recent years. Data shows that Xiamen is now home to more than 1,000 hi-tech companies and 100 business incubators. It is also a base for close to 600 projects related to mobile internet, creative industries, e-commerce and intelligent manufacturing.

The city is actively encouraging start-ups of all sizes and was listed last year as a national demonstration site for fostering small and micro-sized start-ups and entrepreneurship, along with another 14 Chinese cities.

Xiamen's deputy mayor Ni Chao said that the city is pushing for efficient economic transformation and welcomes more entrepreneurs to establish their future ventures there.