Commencing with an official briefing today, more than 50 foreign China experts and foreign media gathered in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, for Linking Zhejiang 2006, the seventh such annual event held to better expose this thriving province to the world.

At the close of 2005, the level of international import/export trade volume in and out of Zhejiang topped US$110 billion, one of four provinces to hit this mark. Those dollars were in large part generated by 2,217 foreign enterprises, and additional private sector businesses operating within the province – many of which produce industrial electronic equipment and appliances.

Zhejiang accommodates more foreign-owned enterprises than any other province in China.

During Linking Zhejiang 2006, from June 16 to 22, foreign and Chinese media and scholars will interview provincial officials and entrepreneurs, visit businesses, inspect environmental protection projects, tour villages in the process of renewal, and generally gain a better understanding of the urban and rural areas of Zhejiang.

This publication’s parent company, China International Publishing Group (CIPG), has dispatched a team of eight correspondents to cover the week-long event, including foreign staff experts from the US, Italy, France and Russia.

(China.org.cn by Lowell Bennett, June 16, 2006)