China's economy has seen brisk growth despite the financial crisis. The annual trade gala - Chinese International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), is set to take flight in the post-crisis era, said Liu Cigui, vice director of the organizing committee of CIFIT and Xiamen's mayor.

He noted that the global economy has shown signs of steady recovery but the road has twists and turns. "This has brought new challenges for the upcoming event," Liu said.

The trade gala will offer a batch of tailor-made activities including information release and brainstorming, exhibition, project matchmaking and business encounters.

He said uncertainties for an overall global recovery are still in place, and China has taken a slew of measures and policies to cope with the financial crunch.

"All those efforts have paid off," he said.

Xiamen city is striving hard to develop itself into a regional financial center on the mainland, Liu told Hong Kong media on June 3.

"It has always been the mission of the city government to develop the city into a major financial center in the region," Liu said, fielding media questions on a trip to Hong Kong to promote the 14th CIFIT to be held in Xiamen on Sept 8-11 and the second World Investment Forum, running in the city until Thursday, respectively.

The World Investment Forum is a global forum organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, while the CIFIT is currently China's largest international event for promoting bilateral investment and trade.

Liu said Xiamen has many advantages in its drive to become a regional financial center.

One advantage is historical. The first foreign-funded bank on the mainland, which is now known as Xiamen International Bank, opened in Xiamen in 1987.

Moreover, the first Taiwan-funded bank and Taiwan-funded insurance company on the mainland have also opened their first branches in the city, he said.

An additional advantage the city has is the variety of financial services available in the city now, which includes banking, insurance and securities.

Xiamen will also have to brave the challenges from other financial centers like Hong Kong and should rise to that level someday. After all, financial centers like Hong Kong, Sydney and Singapore are not built overnight, he said.

Chak Wong, a professor of finance at the Hong Kong Chinese University, has a more positive view.

Every region needs a financial hub to meet the demand for financial services, he said, adding that size is the only issue to be addressed.

"Even a city can have its own financial center, thus enabling the production of tailored financial services to best serve other industries," he said.

Still, Wong doesn't think Xiamen's role as a financial center will pose a threat to the status of Hong Kong as a world-class financial center. "It's not a zero-sum game. It (Xiamen's becoming a financial center) won't necessarily hurt Hong Kong," Wong opined.

Liu said there are now 34 banks operating in Xiamen, of which 17 are foreign-owned or are jointly-owned by foreign investors and domestic investors.

The mayor also emphasized the need for Xiamen to build a strong financial industry, given the increasingly closer exchanges across the Straits. "As a special economic zone and a central city on the western coast of the Taiwan Straits, Xiamen has exemplified itself as the spearhead of development," he declared.