An increasing number of the world's top 500 enterprises have established operations in the Xi'an Economic and Technological Development Zone (XETDZ) in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
The multinational corporations which choose to set up branches in the zone include Coca-Cola, Siemens, Volvo and ABB, Wen Changsheng, director of the zone's administrative committee, said at a seminar held in Beijing on March 27.
So far, XETDZ has attracted 279 foreign-funded projects from Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries and regions. The projects involve a total investment of 21.25 billion yuan (US$2.57 billions) including US$1.26 billion of contracted foreign investment.
According to Wen, XETDZ has taken various measures to improve the natural environment of zone and raise administrative efficiency to facilitate foreign investment.
In particular, high-tech projects in the zone enjoy preferential policies, Wen said.
Covering 23.5 square kilometers, the zone was set up in 1993 and approved as a national development zone by the State Council in February 2000.
(People's Daily March 29, 2002)
