The fair will run until November 27 and is expected to stage technology exchanges and transactions, said Mayor Xu Kuangdi at the opening ceremony.

The fair is being held in the Shanghai New International Expo Centre in Pudong New Area. The annual event will cover an area of 50,000 square metres, up 133 percent from last year.

It is hoped that the occasion will not only be a window to showcase China's innovation capabilities in areas such as science and technology, but that it will also create opportunities for exchanges between Chinese and international technology and industry sectors, said Vice-Premier Wu Bangguo.

Aiming to transform traditional industries with high-technology and world advanced technology, local authorities are making huge efforts to upgrade the fair so that it is similiar to the successful event that takes place in Hannover in Germany.

As the host city, Shanghai will give priority to the wide application information technologies to help upgrade industries, Xu said.

Among the 2,000 indoor stands, 341 have been reserved for overseas participants, six times more than last year. The number of booths reserved for other provincial exhibitors amounts to 842, 40 percent of the total, almost five times more than in 2000.

According to the organizing committee, 20 percent of the participants are leading companies in its own industry. More than 30 out of the Fortune 500 giants have registered to take part, including General Electronics, General Motors and Microsoft.

Some large-scale domestic groups including Legend and Changhong, as well as local enterprises such as Bao Steel and Huahong, are on the list of exhibitors.

Around 12 branches of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 31 universities and colleges will also make their contributions.

The fair aims to provide opportunities for transactions in industrial products, technology, and assets and equity projects. About 50,000 items are on the list open to transaction.

Meanwhile, an online fair will be set up, connecting 22 of China's best-known websites.

The fair is jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Information Industry, the Ministry of Education, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Shanghai municipal government.

(China Daily November 25,2001)