The 2022 Xi'an Annual Industrial Investment and Cooperation Conference was held on Aug 15 in Xi'an – capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province – with the theme of a new Xi'an, new opportunities and new cooperation.

The conference was held both on-site and online, with the main venue set up in Xi'an and three sub-venues in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

A presentation is given at the 2022 Xi'an Annual Industrial Investment and Cooperation Conference. [Photo/Visual Xi'an]

At the conference, Xi'an signed 71 new projects with a total investment of 127.74 billion yuan ($18.82 billion). These include 40 projects worth 1 billion yuan and above, nine projects worth 5 billion yuan or more, two projects costing 10 billion yuan and over, and 30 industrial projects costing a combined 42.46 billion yuan.

These projects are in advanced manufacturing, R&D headquarters, business services and other industries. The signing of the projects is expected to pave the way for Xi'an to speed up its construction of a modern industrial system driven by innovation, as well as help build a city that is strong in advanced manufacturing.

Participants listen to a keynote speech at the 2022 Xi'an Annual Industrial Investment and Cooperation Conference. [Photo/Visual Xi'an]

The conference was told that Xi'an will focus on its industrial supply chain to introduce more industrial projects with high potential, to contribute to the high-quality economic development of the city.

Leading domestic and international companies also staged on-site promotions at the conference and Japanese officials said there was a great deal of potential for their companies to invest and do more business with Xi'an.

"Xi'an has established sister city relations with many Japanese cities," said an official of the Beijing representative office of the Japan External Trade Organization.

He said contacts with these cities would encourage many companies there, including local governments in Japan, to undertake commercial exchanges with Xi'an in various fields.

In addition, financial consulting firm Ernst & Young China released a report which detailed the advantages of Xi'an's industrial investment environment under four topics: a city of opportunity, a city of vitality, an industrial landmark and a city as an open hub.

Financial consulting firm Ernst & Young releases a report on Xi'an at the conference. [Photo/Visual Xi'an]