Shanghai International Industrial Fair 2000, the city's largest-ever industrial exhibition, opens today at the Shanghai Exhibition Center, with the theme of "transforming traditional industry with high technology."

The five-day event, also known as New and High Tech Achievements Exhibition 2000, will emphasize China's high- technology development, said Shanghai Vice Mayor Jiang Yiren at yesterday's news briefing.

The fair, one of the four national high-technology exhibitions, is co-sponsored by the municipal government, the State Economic and Trade Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Information Industry and the Ministry of Education.

The annual event, which is attracting an increasing number of multinational companies and domestic exhibitors particularly from the western region, will highlight technology innovation, Jiang said. This year, organizers have allocated a special exhibition area for domestic exhibitors from outside Shanghai. A total of 136 exhibitors from 13 provinces, including information technology giant Legend Group, will make their debut at the fair.

The number of overseas exhibitors increased by 25 percent from last year. Among them are more than 30 multinational giants, which will display world leading technologies and products, organizers said.

This year's exhibition area covers 21,500 square meters, compared with only 3,000 square meters last year.

"We will further enlarge the exhibition area to 50,000 square meters and move the fair to Pudong next year," Jiang said.

Focusing on electronic information, electrical equipment, biomedicine and advanced industrial materials, the event also is aimed at promoting the exchange of technology and property rights.

(Eastday)