Contracts worth 42 bln yuan inked at Xinjiang trade fair

Contracts worth a combined total of 42.46 billion yuan (6.9 billion U.S.dollars) were signed at the ninth Kashgar Central and South Asia Commodity Fair, organizers said on Monday.

The three-day event kicked off on Saturday in the city of Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

More than 200 agreements in the new materials, new energy equipment, mining, steel, food processing and service sectors were inked at the fair, according to a statement from the fair's organization committee.

The trade fair, which concluded on Monday, attracted more than 10,000 businessmen and delegates of trade and commerce associations, including those from central and south Asian countries such as Pakistan, Iran and Kyrghyzstan, the statement said.

Wang Yongzhi, deputy commissioner of Kashgar prefecture, said the city has become a major international trade hub, particularly for central and south Asian countries.

The annual trade fair was first held in 2005 and has since become one of the most important international trade fairs held in Xinjiang.