The 20th Western China International Fair (WCIF) opened in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province, on May 25. Peng Qinghua, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, read out Chinese President Xi Jinping's congratulatory letter to the event and delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony.

Peng said that President Xi pays great attention to the development of the western region and has high expectations for the WCIF. Over the past 25 years, the WCIF has increasingly become an important link for the world to understand China's western region and for the western region to integrate into global development, he noted.

He underlined the significance of earnestly implementing the requirements outlined in Xi's congratulatory letter and ensuring the implementation of policies and measures to forge a new pattern of development for the western region in the new era.

He also urged efforts to accelerate the development of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, establish a number of important economic corridors connecting West China with ASEAN, Central Asia and Europe, speed up the development of a western science and technology innovation center and create a first-class business environment, so as to provide an effective platform for countries around the world to share the development opportunities in West China and inject new impetus into the prosperity and development of the global economy.

On the afternoon of May 24, he met with foreign dignitaries attending the WCIF.