The government of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region signed a framework strategic cooperation agreement with the Canada Fei Cui International Industrial Group Ltd. on Saturday.

On Friday, the Canadian company had singed an agreement with Shihezi City in the region on investing 5 billion yuan (US$732 million) in a coal-to methanol project.

Company chairman Chen Shali said the huge investment is sure to yield good returns, noting the region is rich in oil, coal, natural gas and various minerals and these are all the company's main business areas.

The July 5 violence won't affect the confidence and determination of the company and it even planned to speed up implementation of its investment program, the chairman said.

An executive of soft drink giant Coca-Cola on Tuesday expressed similar optimism in Xinjiang.

"Coca-Cola still has a very optimistic outlook on Xinjiang's economy and consumer potential in the long term," said Chen Hongbing, general manager of the COFCO Coca-Cola Beverage (Xinjiang) Co., Ltd. in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang.

"Xinjiang's economy has been growing at a faster pace than the national average level and the local government has offered a lot of help and services to us."

"Importantly, the Chinese government responded quickly to restore order after the riot," he said. "We have seen similar responses during the Sichuan earthquake-relief period and the Olympic Games last year."

"Therefore, the riot won't have any impact on our long-term marketing and investment here," Chen added.

(Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2009)