Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi announced the opening of the Eighth China High-tech Fair in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, on Thursday.

Wu, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee was shown around the exhibition in the company of Guangdong governor Huang Huahua.

According to organizers the fair's main themes are "self-reliant innovation, recycled economy, and protection of intellectual rights".

During the fair, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Development and Reform Commission, over 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, and 27 universities will exhibit their achievements in innovation in the high-tech industry.

Over 160 overseas companies from more than 30 foreign countries and regions as well as five international stock exchanges have sent delegations to the fair.

(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2006)