China and France will jointly hold an exposition this September to promote economic exchanges between small and medium companies in the two countries, said an official here Wednesday.

The Sino-French Small and Medium Company Exposition will be held in Guangzhou, capital of south China's booming Guangdong Province from September 12 to 15, said You Ningfeng, executive director of the organizing committee of the exposition.

The exposition will be hosted by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce of China and the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry of France.

Exchanges between small and medium companies represent a new mode of economic cooperation, You said. The exposition will provide a platform for the companies to learn more information and expand the market.

A forum on small and medium companies will be held during the exposition. Senior government officials, experts and company representatives will gather to discuss policy and legal support for the cooperation of companies between the two countries.

Small and medium companies are playing an increasingly important role in the Chinese economy. China had 3.6 million small and medium companies in 2004, accounting for 99.6 percent of the total companies in China and creating nearly 60 percent of the national GDP. Small and medium companies are defined as having yearly income sales less than 5 million yuan (602,410 US dollars).

Source: Xinhua