CHICAGO, May 5 (Xinhua) -- An impressive lineup of increasingly competitive Chinese bio and pharmaceutical companies attracted a lot of attention at the 2010 BIO International Convention in Chicago.

Drawing from more than 60 countries and hosting more than 1,700 exhibitors, the world's largest gathering of the global biotech community opened Tuesday at Chicago's McCormick Place, where China emerged as a positive and enduring force in the competitive biotech field.

Decked in dramatic, vibrant-red color, the Chinese Pavilion, themed "New Market, New Capital, New Opportunity, New Development, " stood out in the busy, 180,000 square foot show floor, announcing China as a major player in the important biotech and pharmaceutical industry.

Welcoming visitors at the Chinese "Gate" of the Beijing booth was Guoshen Cui of the international affairs and investment promotion department at Alliance of Beijing Pharma and Biotech center. He told Xinhua, "This is the first time Beijing organized its own delegation. We are dedicated to promoting Beijing to the whole world as a global innovative city."

Discussing China's biotech presence, Cui added, "China has an emerging bio-med and drug market, a strong environmental policy, investment support for innovation from our government and huge developmental potential due to comparative advantages in cost and efficiency."

In fact, China's emerging biotech and pharmaceutical industry boasts not only a large market size, but also rapid technological advances. The Chinese biopharmaceutical industry recorded 121 billion U.S. dollars GDP in 2008, a 25.6 percent increase year on year, and its GDP in expected to surpass 147 billion dollars.

In addition to networking events, the Bio 2010 Convention offers numerous exhibits in topics ranging from medicine, diagnostics, the environment and agriculture to issues such as patent protection, personalized medicine, climate change biofuels and genetically engineered animals.
                                                                                                             Source: Xinhua