Former Austrian president Heinz Fischer said China has every reason to be proud of its achievements as an extremely open country. Austria, with its own industrial advantages, can expand its cooperation with China in the field, Fischer said.

Friedrich Stift, Austrian ambassador to China, said in an interview that Austrian companies are very interested in cooperating with Chinese firms and bilateral investment is now picking up. In the year's first half, their bilateral trade hit $13.2 billion, Stift said.

Luca de Meo, president of the Spanish automobile manufacturer SEAT, said at the opening ceremony that China sets a good example in innovation and dealing with change.

Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo Group, added China's manufacturing sector, the largest in the world, has for many years helped propel the fast development of the nation's economy.

Li Jinbin, Anhui's Party secretary, said that the opening of the manufacturing convention is a grand event for the world's industries, and it will help elevate Anhui's manufacturing on its road toward middle- and high-end development.

Some 1,000 key investment projects in Anhui have been selected as candidates for cooperation, among which over 600 are expected to see agreements signed during the convention with a total investment exceeding 500 billion yuan.

Xinhua contributed to this story.