By staff reporter HAO JIE

　　On October 17, 2000, the Second China High-Tech Fair came to a successful close, resulting in 1,046 contracted projects valued at US $8.54 billion (exclusive of letters of intention). This one-week fair was co-sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Information Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Shenzhen Government. Participants included high-profile delegations from 36 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as 44 foreign high-tech transnational companies and risk investment agencies, and 1,300 foreign investment companies and intermediary agencies from 11 foreign countries.
　　In order to cater to the needs of all the various participants, the fair provided a copious itinerary. With High-Tech Investment, Information Technology in the 21st Century and Biotech as its basic topics, the High-Tech Forum encompassed 18 lectures on subjects including IT, biotech and new materials. The three symposiums on the starting mode and growth road for high-tech enterprises, the international stock market, and the operation and management of high-tech enterprises, attracted many high-tech companies, stock exchanges and financial agencies. Other programs covered project recommendation, investment environment introduction and investment invitation.
　　During the fair, US $ 2.6 billion-worth of import/export contracts were concluded in addition to the clinching of 27.57 billion yuan-worth domestic business. Participants also reached agreement on 175 foreign-invested projects, with a total contracted investment of US $2.6 billion, and some 242 scientific and technological products were auctioned at a total business volume of 109 million yuan. The four sectors, electronic information, biotech and medicine, photo-electro-mechanics and new materials, bagged the lion's share of all business concluded, with 835 projects valued at US $6.33 billion. Some high-level projects in central and western China also aroused great interest among participants.
　　As one of the fair's co-sponsors, Shenzhen has made great contributions to the high-tech industry, having initiated many of its sectors, including computers and computer software, telecommunications, microelectronics, biotech and new materials. Zhang Gaoli, Secretary of the CPC Shenzhen Committee, and Yu Youjun, Shenzhen Mayor, are both of the opinion that the city is an ideal incubator for scientific and technological achievement, given its advantages in expertise, technology, funds and location. They believe that a booming high-tech industry will not only serve the city, but also benefit the whole country.