China has been active in expanding overseas markets for labor cooperation and contract projects over the last four years, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a report yesterday.

Between 2003 and 2006, the value of overseas contracts reached US$137 billion, with an average annual increase of 44.7 percent. During the same period, the contract value of labor cooperation reached US$16 billion, with an average annual increase of 17.4 percent.

By the end of 2006, China had sent more than 675,000 workers to other countries, 8.7 times as many as sent in 2002.

The fast development of cooperation has fueled China's opening-up and has helped optimize its resource distribution. It has also enhanced China's exports of equipment, technology and labor, and contributed to the overall stability of the Chinese economy, the NBS report said.

The tourism industry also developed as more and more tourists flocked to China. Between 2003 and 2006, China received nearly 446 million foreign tourists, with an average annual increase of 6.3 percent.

China made US$106 billion from tourism between 2003 and 2006, with an average annual increase of 6.3 percent. In 2006 alone, the tourism industry made US$34 billion, 1.7 times the earnings posted in 2002.

There was also an increase in the number of Chinese tourists traveling to other countries. In 2006, more than 34 million Chinese citizens traveled abroad, 2.1 times as many as in 2002.