The 2010 China Shijiazhuang International Investment and Trade Fair will begin Oct 18 in Shijiazhuang, the capital of North China’s Hebei province.

Shijiazhuang provincial government held a press conference to announce the theme, fair schedule and information about participants for the fair, which will end Oct 20.

The fair’s theme is “to achieve mutual development through communication”. Events will include investment promotion forums, exhibits, and cooperation and development forums.

About 200 selected projects with a total investment of $8 billion will be announced during the fair, fair officials said.

During the fair, a pharmaceutical expo will also be held at a facility of 10,000 square meters in size. This expo will feature 304 booths, and more than 200 Chinese medical enterprises are expected to take part.

By Guo Changdong and Zhang Nan