The opening ceremony of the 2015 China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT) kicked off at the Xiamen International Convention and Exhibition Center in Xiamen, Fujian province, on Sept 8.

This year's fair, which will run until Sept 11, includes an intensive schedule consisting of exhibition activities, workshop sessions and matchmaking events.

A total of 635 investment promotion organizations and business associations from more than 100 countries and regions will send delegations over the course of the fair.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development will release its World Investment Report 2015 during the fair.

The United States, Spain and Australia will host events to introduce their investment policies. A total of 10 Chinese provinces and cities including Jiangxi, Hainan and Shanghai will give presentation to promote their image and attract investment.

The fair's organizers have invited representatives from more than 20 countries along the Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road to explore business opportunities prompted by China's Belt and Road Initiative. These countries include Malaysia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, the guest country of honor for the 2015 CIFIT. Shaanxi province, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, will take part in the fair as the guest province of honor for 2015.

Delegations of China's four free trade zones from Shanghai, Tianjin, Fujian and Guangdong will meet with overseas Chinese businessmen and discuss cross-Straits e-commerce collaboration.

Another focus of the fair is the Internet Plus strategy, through which China aims to apply Internet technology such as including cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things and mobile Internet to sectors such as manufacturing, transportation and logistics to improve efficiency and connectivity.

Jack Ma, founder and chairman of the e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, will shed light on smarter manufacturing with his key note speech at the main session of the 2015 International Investment Forum on the morning of Sept 8. The Forum is an integral part of CIFIT history.

Internet financing, crowd-financing and P2P lending will be at the heart of the fair as new financial channels have come to light in recent years.

Promising start-ups, including high-tech enterprises listed on China's New Third Board, will present themselves in front of financial agencies across the world.