URUMQI -- A total of 40 projects with an aggregate investment of over 118.48 billion yuan ($16.62 billion) were signed on Friday at a sideline event of the ongoing 8th China-Eurasia Expo held in Urumqi, the regional capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The event, highlighting the development of the Urumqi sub-zone of the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), was hosted by the government of Urumqi and attended by over 300 representatives from 200 enterprises and 10 chambers of commerce.

With the establishment of the Xinjiang Pilot FTZ in Urumqi, the city has become an investment and business hot spot, said Yakup Paydulla, mayor of Urumqi.

The signed projects span several industries, including new energy, new materials, the energy and chemicals industry, electronics and information industry, agricultural produce processing, logistics, advanced equipment and bio-medicine.

"Urumqi boasts unique geographical advantages," noted Che Mingze, assistant to the chairman of the Xinjiang Shijiyun Energy Technology Co Ltd, adding the investment projects signed by the company will not only help promote local industrial transformation and upgrading, but also benefit the company's future expansion into Central Asia and other overseas markets, bringing quality Chinese products to neighboring countries.

The company has signed investment projects with a total investment of 24.5 billion yuan, including a 4-million-kilowatt photovoltaic project to be launched in Urumqi.

As the first pilot FTZ in China's northwest border areas, the Xinjiang Pilot FTZ was officially established in November 2023. The FTZ has since embarked on an array of reform initiatives, marking a robust start to its development.

The 8th China-Eurasia Expo, themed "New Opportunities of Silk Road, New Vitality for Eurasian Cooperation," will run until Sunday. It has drawn over 1,900 participants from 50 countries, regions and international organizations, showcasing over 6,000 varieties of products.