A total of 49 Fortune 500 companies sent representatives to visit Ningbo, Zhejiang province to inspect the city's investment environment on Sept 6.

The visit marked the beginning of the 2017 Dialogue between Chinese Private Enterprises and the Fortune 500, a platform for international exchanges in Ningbo.

Co-organized by Ningbo municipal government and the Investment Promotion Agency of China's Ministry of Commerce, this year's dialogue event, focusing on smart manufacturing, aims to enhance the collaboration between the Fortune 500 and local private companies and attract new businesses and investment to Zhejiang's second largest city.

Ningbo was selected as China's first pilot demonstration city for the Made in China 2025 strategy in 2016. During the visit, the city's development in smart manufacturing over the past year was showcased to visitors from around the world.

The visitors—which also included officials from government bodies, foreign embassies, chambers of commerce and research institutions—were given a tour of the Ningbo Hangzhou Bay New Zone and Yinzhou economic development zone, two important hubs for smart manufacturing in Ningbo.

"The field trips and matchmaking talks were the highlights of this year's event," said an official from Ningbo investment support and promotion agency.

By presenting the achievements Ningbo has made over past twelve months and sharing the city's experience in smart manufacturing with international companies, the event created a bridge for cooperation between Chinese private enterprises and multinationals, he added.