Wei Jianguo, Vice Minister of Commerce

Dear leaders, guests, friends,

With the concern of the Party central committee and the State Council, the support of relative State departments and provincial governments, and the cooperation of delegations from both home and abroad, the Fifth China Hi-Tech Fair has successfully completed according to the schedule.

The Fifth CHTF will close soon. On this occasion, I'd like to extend my heartfelt gratitude and high respect to all the domestic and overseas experts, scholars, investors, entrepreneurs at the fair, and the leaders and friends who concern and support the fair.

This year's CHTF is a grand international fair of high-tech products and technologies has achieved prominent effects. 90 delegations, 2,930 exhibitors and 1,138 investors from 42 countries and regions took part in the fair, which also attracted 240,000 visitors. More than 1,300 journalists from nearly 300 media units home and abroad participated in the report. Nearly Every exhibitor received 153 professional visitors everyday, and the investors' exhibition area attracted 338 professional visitors daily. 18 foreign governments including those from U.S., E.U., 35 provinces, municipal cities and autonomous regions on the Chinese mainland, 27 universities have sent delegations to the fair. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan also formed delegations to the fair. 41 well-known multinational companies have taken part in the fair. As many as 62 promotion and contract-signing meetings have been held, and a total of 1,392 contracts and agreements have been signed with the total transaction volume reaching US$ 12.838 billion, 5.57 percent more than that of last year. 1,282 high-tech projects were signed at the fair, with the transaction volume reaching US$11.205 billion, accounting for 87.28 percent of the total transaction volume. Among the total transaction volume, US$1.867 billion are import and export transactions, and export volume reaches US$1.656 billion.

The Fifth CHTF is also a grand gathering for the international scientific and technological elites and entrepreneurs to exchange and cooperate on a variety of subjects. 44 world famous experts, scholars and senior government officials, including 3 ministers of science and technology, 2 Nobel Prize laureates took part in the China Hi-Tech Forum. 10 speeches were given at the forum, which fully demonstrated the world's latest development and trends of science and technologies.

For the first time, this year's CHTF successfully held Forum of Ministers of Science and Technologies, opening a new channel for international cooperation and exchanges at the government level.

A series of special activities have been held for overseas Chinese students. A lot of overseas students took part in the investors-overseas students matching negotiation, the achievements exhibition and transfer, project releases, and other activities. Nearly 300 overseas students have brought to the fair 357 projects, 90 of which were transferred at a total of 2.196 billion yuan.

The super-SUPER series, with its services tailored to needs of participants, has attracted more than 400 highbrows from 20 foreign countries and regions, 20 domestic provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions and 30 key universities. The high-level roundtable conference and interactive super-SUPER activities has formed a platform for interactive cooperation and exchanges.

The Chinese Enterprises' overseas Listing Consultation has attracted 10 domestic and overseas stock exchanges and more than 400 overseas venture capital organizations, including five of world's top 10 stock exchanges. Such large-scale listing consultation shows that the overseas stock exchanges attach great importance to China's high-tech enterprises and enhances close cooperation between technologies and capital.
 
The curtain of the Fifth CHTF is to fall soon, but the "exhibition on the Internet" will continue to provide all-year-round platform and convenient services for exhibitors and investors from home and abroad.

Honored guests, friends, the successful launch of Shenzhou V manned spaceship the day before yesterday signifies that Chinese people have stridden another historic step in the journey to climb world science and technology summit. It also signifies the ability of Chinese people to stand in the front of world science and technology, the determination of Chinese people to promote Chinese economies by developing science and technology. We will put more energy on accelerating the high-tech industry, and promoting trade through developing science and technology. We will actively support the CHTF, making it a platform for the transfer of science and technology fruits, a platform for starting businesses and making investment, for export of high-tech products, for import of high-tech. We will make it a high-level, more characteristic, more influential, more authoritative, more profitable fair. During such a key period of national economic development, the high-tech fair will make bigger contributions in the promotion of Chinese high-tech industries and the adjustment of industrial structure. All these will be based on the fair's efficiency in collecting and distributing of high technology, hi-tech products and funds, its leading role in the market of high technology and high-tech products.

Dear guests and friends, the Sixth CHTF will be held in the newly established Shenzhen International Convention Exhibition Center from Oct 12 to 17 in 2004. At that time an imposing, advanced and functional convention exhibition center will bring you new atmosphere, new chances and new fortune. I'd like to take this opportunity to sincerely invite all friends to attend the Sixth CHTF. See you next autumn.

Now, I announce the closure of the Fifth CHTF.