A festival for local chambers of commerce was hosted by the Shanxi Federation of Industry and Commerce in Taiyuan, capital of North China's Shanxi province, on April 29. 

The event focused on boosting rural vitalization, serving private enterprises, and stimulating consumption. A series of activities were arranged to expand the influence of Shanxi's most prestigious local products and intangible cultural heritage. 

The festival aimed to unite the business organizations of Shanxi's merchants both in China and abroad, while also encouraging them to support the high-quality development of Shanxi's private sector. 

Some 200 entrepreneurs from more than 100 Shanxi chambers of commerce around the world returned to their respective hometowns in the province to celebrate the grand event and discuss Shanxi's bright future. 

Zhang Weidong, president of the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce in Germany, said that Shanxi merchants have been prosperous for over 100 years due to their integrity and unity. He hoped the chambers of commerce would establish a window for local enterprises to connect with Germany and other parts of Europe through cultural exchanges and information sharing.  

Qiao Xiangpeng, president of the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce in Russia, returned to China to participate in the festival, bringing the resources accumulated in Russia over the past 17 years to help the development of his hometown. 

"The festival lets Shanxi businesspeople overseas see the results of the province's efforts to support the development of the private sector. We can feel Shanxi's firm determination to optimize the business environment and see the measures being implemented to further its opening-up, and we will contribute to these," said Qiao.

During the festival, Shanxi's cultural and tourism resources, investment environment and project support policies were showcased to attendees. Certain projects received great attention from the participating entrepreneurs. 

Eleven Shanxi chambers of commerce signed strategic cooperation agreements with federations of industry and commerce in 11 cities in the province.