Bellwether of Growth

By Ma Miaomiao

The Asia Plaza， a residential and com- mercial building in the Manila Bay Area of the Philippines， is one of the offshoots of the countrys participation in the China International Fair for Investment and Trade（CIFIT） last year. With an estimated investment of $77 million， the project started construction in June， introducing 200 new jobs， according to the Philippine News Agency.

The country will be joining CIFIT 2021， set to take place from September 8 to 11 in Xiamen， Fujian Province， as the guest country of honor for the second year in a row. In the last edition， it featured 64 projects worth $1.07 billion. This time， the country aims to further attract investment in the fields of manufacturing， renewable energy and infrastructure.

CIFIT is Chinas only international investment promotion intended to facilitate trade and investment between Chinese and foreign companies.

While the coronavirus is still battering the global economy， the fair offers an important platform for companies to seek business opportunities. “More than offering a one-stop-shop service for multilateral investment cooperation， CIFIT will help [those seeking new opportunities] select from the widest array of investment projects and business partners from around the world，” Ramon M. Lopez， Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines， said.

Platform for cooperation

Based on the theme of New Opportunities for International Investment Under New Development Patterns， the upcoming event will revolve around the 14th Five-Year Plan （2021-25） of China， the BRICS Partnership on the New Industrial Revolution， the Belt and Road Initiative， and bilateral and multilateral cooperation， Wang Shouwen， Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative， said at a press conference on July 20.

China has become the worlds second largest consumer market and the largest trader in goods. After becoming the worlds biggest recipient of foreign investment last year， paid-in foreign direct investment （FDI） into the Chinese mainland surged 25.5 percent year on year to more than 672 billion yuan （$100 billion） in the first seven months of this year， according to the Ministry of Commerce.

“This years CIFIT will speak to Chinas investment environment and contribute to the worlds economic recovery and growth，” Wang elaborated. During the previous CIFIT， more than 2，300 projects were agreed upon， with a total investment of over $117 billion.