The 14th CIFIT will feature 3,214 booths, 400 more than last year, according to Fujian provincial trade officials.
 
At present, registration for exhibition is wrapping up, and to date, 46 countries and regions have confirmed their intents to take part in the fair. Taiwan enterprises will increase their presence at the fair from 128 booths last year to 200 booths this year. Three specialized exhibitions, including the sixth Straits Fair, the second China International Property Investment Fair, and the 2010 China International Exposition for Energy Conservation, Environmental Protection and Alternative Energy, will be held during the 14th CIFIT.
 
For the first time, Henan Province, Wenzhou and Shenyang Cities, and Wal-Mart will host special pavilion day events at the fair. Italy, Finland, Hong Kong and Macao also have plans to stage national or regional pavilion day events.
 
Over the past three years, CIFIT has attracted more than 100,000 overseas participants from 144 territories and representatives from over 400 Fortune 500 companies and 3,000 multinationals. CIFIT has also seen more than 13,000 project deals and helped channeled close to US$ 100 billion to the Chinese market. A significant number of Chinese enterprises have ventured into the international marketplace via CIFIT.
 
CIFIT is sponsored by China's Ministry of Commerce and co-sponsored by the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the UN Industrial Development Organization, the World Bank, and the International Finance Corporation. It's currently China's only international event aimed at promoting bilateral trade and the world's largest international trade promotion event. The first CIFIT was held in Xiamen from September 8 to 11, 1997. CIFIT has its roots in the Fujian Investment and Trade Fair, which saw 10 annual sessions.