The five-day Tenth Investment and Trade Fair for Cooperation Between East and West China ended in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province on Sunday with more contracted investment for west China.

The fair saw the signing of 1,155 investment contracts worth about 125.74 billion yuan (some US$15.8 billion) between domestic companies, according to the fair's organizing committee.

Investment from domestic firms is 65 percent up on the previous session last year, said the committee.

Another 142 contracts have been signed by Chinese and foreign companies with a total contracted investment of US$2.432 billion, up 30.4 percent year-on-year.

More than 2,000 companies found investment partners during the fair.

The event in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, attracted companies from around the country and more than 3,000 foreign businesses from over 40 countries and regions, according to the committee.

Shaanxi Provincial Vice Governor Zhao Zhengyong said facts have proven that the fair had become a key platform of cooperation among provinces and autonomous regions.

"The Investment and Trade Fair for Cooperation Between East and West China has been playing a crucial role in the development of China's west," said Zhao.

The fair was launched in 1997 with the aim of expanding the scope of cooperation between east and west China. More than 1,163 foreign investment contracts involving some US$13 billion have been signed during the previous nine fairs.

(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2006)