Approximately 850 small and medium-sized firms from China and the European Union (EU) are expected to hold 5,000 face-to-face business talks during an investment and trade fair slated for Nov. 9-10 in Chengdu, capital of SW China's Sichuan Province.

The organizing committee has received applications from 836 Chinese companies involved in agriculture, tourism, health care, environmental protection, factory equipment, construction equipment, information technology and electronics.

A team of Chinese and EU experts will select 500 qualified Chinese companies and 400 EU companies to attend the fair, the largest in the history of Sino-EU economic cooperation.

Despite recent trade disputes, China-EU trade exceeded 200 billion U.S. dollars last year and EU has become China's largest trade partner.

The 2006 Sino-EU investment and trade fair will be at the joint sponsorship of the European Commission, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Sichuan provincial government.

Source: Xinhua