The foreign affairs office of Xiamen is widely said to have contributed a great deal to the 22nd China International Fair for Investment and Trade – held in the city of Xiamen in East China's Fujian province on Sept 8-11.

In addition to hosting receptions and offering language services to delegates from 43 countries and 51 foreign embassies, the Xiamen office has always utilized ties with its foreign counterparts to facilitate the city's opening-up and global trade and commerce.

In terms of the Belt and Road Initiative, a host of forums and events – including the Silk Road Maritime International Cooperation Forum and the Gulangyu Forum – attracted representatives from Switzerland, Hungary, Singapore, Thailand and other countries.

With help from the Xiamen foreign affairs office, many countries – including the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Iran and the Solomon Islands – promoted their investment and trade resources. Solomon Islands' ambassador to China, John Fugui, expressed the hope that CIFIT would help promote his country's products to the world.

The Xiamen foreign affairs office is also understood to have been very active at CIFIT in arranging meetings between foreign embassies and local companies. For example, the office helped Dawano Kedir, deputy head of mission of the Ethiopian embassy in Beijing, to visit Xiamen. The subjects of importing that country's coffee beans, operating airlines and setting up Chinese factories in Ethiopia were discussed during his trip.