The 2006 International Cooperation Summit for Asia-Pacific CEOs & Provincial Governors and Mayors opened successfully in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, on September 20, 2006.

The meeting is the only high-level summit of its kind in the world, committed to establishing long-term and stable communication mechanisms between provincial governors, mayors and CEOs from across the Asia-Pacific region.

The summit's slogan is "cooperation, innovation, fortune and capital" and its goal is to promote cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, investment, technology, management and branding as well as in urban construction & development and regional development. In addition, the summit will make its due contribution to the charity and public welfare in the Asia-Pacific region.

Zhang Huaixi, vice chairman of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and the Ministry of Commerce sent letters of congratulations to the Summit. The summit was attended by the Former Premier of Australia Bob Hawke, Vice Governor of Jiangsu Zhang Weiguo, Mayor of Wuxi Mao Xiaoping, Former Chair of the Committee on International Relations of US House of Representatives Benjamin Arthur Gilman, President of the Republican Party's Asian Committee Ben John Chen and more than 300 participants, including provincial governors and mayors & CEOs, economists, journalists and foreign enterprises' representatives.

Bob Hawke, former premier of Australia, said, "The International Cooperation Summit for Asia-Pacific CEOs & Provincial Governors and Mayors, as a platform for the communication and cooperation between the well-known CEOs in big enterprises, senior financial experts and local executive officers from the Asia-Pacific region, has promoted the interaction and development of international capital and the regional economy."

Bob Hawke, Former Premier of Australia

"China's peaceful rising has attracted the whole world's attention. The key point is we inherited Confucianism. It is of great help to integrate both Confucianism and western management expertise into corporate operation. CEOs, government officials, and elites from all walks of life have already realized the importance of combining both the eastern and western philosophy and taking advantage of these great ideas in their management," Ben John Chen, president of the Republican Party's Asian Committee, said at the Summit.

Ben Chen, President of the Republican Party's Asian Committee

China.org.cn and Chinagate.com.cn jointly provide online live-webcasting for the Summit.

The participants of the Summit visited the development zones of Wuxi today.

Wuxi is located in Yangtze River Delta with Shanghai 128 km to the east and Nanjing 183 km to the west. By the end of 2005, Wuxi had attracted a total investment of US$31.07 billion and a paid-in capital of US$18.56 billion, and 64 of "Fortune 500" companies have secured tenancy in Wuxi with 121 projects.

(China Development Gateway by Wang Sining, September 21, 2006)