19th Kunming Import, Export Fair opens in SW China

The 19th China Kunming Import and Export Fair kicked off Sunday evening in Kunming, the capital city of southwest China's Yunnan Province.


Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo officially opened the five-day fair, which will conclude on June 10.


Foreign leaders including Sri Lanka's Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne and Laotian Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad attended the opening ceremony.


Addressing the ceremony, Dai said Yunnan was "a miniature of China's peaceful development," and "a window of China's opening up to the outside world," adding the province will make efforts to serve as a channel in realizing the peaceful and common development of China and its neighboring countries.


Also at the ceremony, Jayaratne hailed the fair had become an important platform for the world, especially the Asian countries to explore business opportunities.


According to the organizing committee, this year's fair is designated to display the features of Southeast Asian and South Asian markets, as all the Southeast Asian and South Asian countries had sent delegations to the event.


Over 1,000 exhibit booths were set up by businessmen from South Asian and Southeast Asian countries at the fair, taking almost half of the total booths.


The fair will coincide with a series of events such as the fourth South Asian Countries Trade Fair and the sixth China-South Asia Business Forum.
(Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com)