Leaders of the municipal government and some enterprise representatives sign a contract on May 10. [Photo/WeChat account of Baotou Daily]

A service industry high-quality development promotion conference was held in Baotou on May 10. Agreements for a total of 115 projects were signed at the meeting, with a total investment of 61.55 billion yuan ($9.15 billion).

The projects involve 17 service-related fields such as modern logistics, cultural tourism, elderly care services, finance, sports, technology services, e-commerce, and medicine.

Among the signed projects, six Fortune 500 companies, eight leading companies in China, and seven private Fortune 500 companies are involved.

A person in charge of a project said: "This project is expected to be completed in five years. After it is completed, it is expected to increase tax revenue in Baotou by about 20 million yuan each year, which can meet the pension needs of more than 8,000 people."

A contracted Baotou Horse Industrial Base project will create a comprehensive industrial park focusing on polo and integrating sports, tourism, culture, education, agriculture, animal husbandry, science and technology.

"For a city with heavy industry, it is really impressive that it attaches so much importance to the service industry!" said an attendee of the conference.

Baotou will work to promote the construction of its existing 225 major projects in the service industry to ensure that added value growth in the service industry this year will reach 8 percent, and investment in fixed assets in the service industry will increase by more than 15 percent.