A signing ceremony between Zhejiang provincial enterprises and international companies is held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai on Nov 7. [Photo/zj.zjol.com]

Twenty-five Zhejiang companies signed letters of intent worth a whopping 10.2 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) with 28 foreign companies from a dozen countries, including the United States, Germany, Canada and Japan, in Shanghai on Nov 7, the third day of the second China International Import Expo (CIIE).

Sixteen of the projects were signed between provincial enterprises, such as Zhejiang Energy Group and Zhejiang International Business Group, and world-famous international companies, such as Louis Dreyfus and Siemens Healthineers. The projects focused on agricultural produce, large commodities, medical equipment and tourism services.

The number of projects involving Zhejiang provincial enterprises has increased by 45.45 percent, while their contract value has increased by 67.61 percent, since last year's CIIE. Six of the projects were worth more than $20 million.

"The signing of the projects will bring new opportunities to Zhejiang companies looking to further open-up and deepen international cooperation," said an official of Zhejiang.

"The sea salt we purchased from Australian companies at last year's CIIE was well-received domestically, so we decided to buy more this year," said Yang Wujun, vice-general-manager of Zhejiang Salt Industry Group, a provincial state-run company.

According to a news conference held by Zhejiang authorities on the same day, the Zhejiang business delegation is expected to realize double-digit growth in the total value of letters of intent.

At last year's CIIE, Zhejiang ranked first in China in terms of actual transaction volume, and more than 90 percent of the contracts signed have been fulfilled.

"We are confident that we will retain the top spot this year," said an official of the department of commerce of Zhejiang.

Statistics showed that Zhejiang imported 560.1 billion yuan worth of goods in the first nine months, up 2.8 percent year-on-year and 2.9 percentage points higher than the national average.