The first Western China (Sichuan) Import Expo and International Investment Fair (WCIIF) will be held in Chengdu in October.

Southwest China's Sichuan Province is trying to establish a new way to increase the region's international trade and the fair will be held from Oct. 23 to 27, according to the provincial bureau of expo affairs.

With the theme of "Free Trade and Economic Globalization", the fair will attract participants from more than 30 countries and regions including the United States, France and Germany.

Prior the the WCIIF, a Western China International Fair (WCIF) was held for 15 years in Chengdu and has long been an important platform for international exchanges.

The WCIF was an annual state-level international exposition under the co-sponsorship of 16 ministries, 12 provincial-level divisions in western China and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

WCIIF will inherit the system, structure and business resources of previous WCIF events, and build another platform linking China's western development strategy with the Belt and Road Initiative, said Cui Zhimin, managing director of the expo affairs bureau.