The Online CIFIT, the virtual platform of the China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT), was put into use on Sept 8, the first day of the 2020 CIFIT.

Established by the CIFIT and Alibaba Group, the platform offers people in over 40 countries and regions services such as exhibitions, project matchmaking, investment negotiations, forums and symposiums, and contract signing.

Wang Shouwen, China's vice-minister of commerce, said at the ceremony that though the COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to traditional exhibitions, it has also created new opportunities for digital development.

For this reason, CIFIT's organizing committee has upgraded the functions of the fair's existing online platform with modern technologies such as 5G, VR, AR and livestreaming, Wang added.

Chen Jing, deputy director of the Fujian Provincial Commerce Bureau, said: "We want to use CIFIT as an opportunity to utilize the online platform and further expand the investment channels of our province and thus normalize online exhibition promotions, online investment and online project signing."

CIFIT, approved by the State Council of the People's Republic of China, takes place every September in Xiamen. It is an international investment event aimed at promoting bilateral and multilateral economic exchange and cooperation. It also serves to showcase China's achievements in reform and opening-up.