Contracts worth 31.26 billion yuan (US$3.76 billion) were signed between Chinese and overseas business people during the six-day exposition, 42 percent more than at last year's exposition.

Analysts say this shows overseas investors are being increasingly attracted to China. "Although the global economy is experiencing a downturn, China has maintained stable economic development and social progress," said Tang Qingfu, vice director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Companies from 16 countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Britain and Japan, attended the exposition, and countries like Thailand, the Philippines, Russia and Australia dispatched study groups. "The China market has played a major part of Siemens business in the Asia-Pacific region over the last 10 years," President of the Siemens Limited China Ernst Behrens said, adding that he believes more overseas companies are going to tap the Chinese market after China's entry into the World Trade Organization.

The Fair also became the first exhibition in China authorized to issue awards to outstanding exhibits.

Approved by the State Council, the fair has 22 awards for product exhibits.

The four gold medal winners were a public traffic smart card produced by the Shanghai Huahong Group. Co., Ltd., Microsoft's Windows XP operating system, a 600,000-KW thermal power generating set produced by the Shanghai Electrical Group Co. and the wisdom pen produced by the Hanwang Technology Co., Ltd.

The panel for the awards consists of officials and experts from China's State Economic and Trade Commission, ministries of foreign trade and economic cooperation, science, information industry, and education, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and Academician Vladimir V. Vikulin from the State Research Center of Russia.

(People's Daily November 28, 2001)