China will host a large Sino-European Union investment and trade fair in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province in the year 2006, a senior official with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) said over the weekends.

The trade fair, scheduled to be held on Nov. 9-10 next year, will be the largest of its kind in the history of Sino-EU economic cooperation, said Yu Ping, vice president of the CCPIT.

The event aims to provide an opportunity to further strengthen economic cooperation between Chinese and European enterprises, and serve as a bridge to narrow the distance between them so that each can explore the other's market, the official said.

EU Ambassador to China Serge Abou also said, "We are confident that the 2006 Sino-EU trade fair will be a great success."

The EU is paying increasingly attention to China due to the country's booming economy, he said.

This will be the first time for a European trade fair to be held in a city other than a national capital since it was first hosted by an Asian country in 1997.

The 2006 Sino-EU trade fair will be jointly sponsored by the European Commission, the CCPIT and the Sichuan provincial government and is expected to be attended by around 400 enterprises from 25 EU member countries and 500 Chinese enterprises.

Source: Xinhua