The five-day 20th Western China International Fair (WCIF), which opened in Chengdu City of southwest China's Sichuan Province on Sunday, showcases the latest sci-tech achievements and specialty industries from various regions. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the event on the opening day.
With the theme "Deepen Reform For More Momentum, Expand Openness for Greater Growth," the fair attracted more than 3,000 companies from 62 countries and regions around the world, as well as 27 provincial-level regions in China.
Focusing on expanding high-level opening up, deepening regional exchanges and cooperation, advancing the construction of a modern industrial system, and promoting trade cooperation under China's "dual circulation" strategy, the event has set up 15 themed pavilions in three major exhibition areas, covering 200,000 square meters.
A total of 25 investment promotion events will be held during the fair.
The number of Fortune Global 500 companies, top 500 Chinese enterprises and top 500 Chinese private enterprises participating in this year's fair reached 114, accounting for 55.6 percent of the total. Among them are 61 Fortune Global 500 companies, up 74.3 percent from the previous edition of the fair.
An exhibition will be held during the fair to showcase the economic and social development of China's western region and the major achievements of the fair.
20th Western China Int'l Fair showcases cutting-edge technologies, specialty industries
Axis powers during World War II should offer sincere reflection and apology, a Greek mayor said after Greece successfully repatriated a rare collection of 262 World War II-era photographs.
Greek officials traveled to Belgium to negotiate with the seller and brought the photographs back to Greece, after they were put up for sale online by a Belgian collector, said the Greek Culture Ministry.
The images were taken by Wehrmacht lieutenant Hermann Heuer, who served in Greece from 1943 to 1944, during World War II, and part of the collection documents the mass execution of Greek communists by Nazi troops in Kaisariani, east of Athens.
During World War II, German occupation in Greece met with fierce resistance. On May 1, 1944, German forces executed 200 Greeks at the Kaisariani firing range in retaliation for the killing of a German general by resistance fighters.
A memorial and a museum were set up after the war in Kaisariani to commemorate those who died in the mass execution.
"The photos really shocked us all because they were real documents from the day of the execution. We are shocked for many reasons. An important reason is that the 200 communists were singing with their heads held high before the execution in the photos, and they were not mourning because they were fighters," said Ilias Stamelos, mayor of Kaisariani.
The newly recovered photographs have drawn renewed attention to the historical trauma still felt in the community, as the images provide a direct visual record of the final moments of those executed.
In 1987, then German President Richard von Weizsaecker visited Greece and made a special stop in Kaisariani, reflecting on the profound suffering inflicted on the Greek people by Germany during World War II.
Ilias said that, like Germany, Japan, another Axis power during the war, should also be held accountable for the massive harm it caused to multiple countries and should offer sincere reflection and apology for its wartime aggression.
"And I think it's a common demand, because those responsible for the deaths in the World War II need to pay for what happened. It's known to all that back then it was Germany, Japan and Italy, the allies in this war, that each played different roles in the war, yet they do have common responsibilities," said the mayor.
Historic photos of Nazi mass execution of Greeks returned to Greece, mayor calls for historical accountability
