Northwest China's Shaanxi provincial capital Xi'an witnessed a record growth in the economic cooperation with its overseas partners in the first ten months of 2005, the highest in northwestern China, according to statistics released by the city's bureau of foreign trade.

The city registered a business volume of 52.13 million US dollars in contracted overseas projects and labor service export from January to October, turning over 45.76 million US dollars, up by 62 percent over last year.

So far the city has attracted foreign investors from more than 30 countries and regions in the world. At the same time, the city government has encouraged local enterprises to invest overseas. Some of the projects have already been approved by the Ministry of Commerce, according to sources.

Besides, the city has received considerable funds from the international community during the first ten months. An official of the bureau cited that the Japanese government has provided a fund of 1.3 billion yen (about 234,000 US dollars) to aid the city in dealing with garbage disposal, a project which has been proceeding smoothly.

Source: Xinhua