The 26th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT Xiamen) was held from 8 to 11 September in Xiamen, Fujian. A delegation from Manhattan Special Economic Zone attended, meeting companies and institutions to discuss outbound manufacturing, industrial relocation to Southeast Asia and supply chain cooperation.
CIFIT Xiamen 2026: 129 countries and regions, 200,000 sqm of exhibition space
This year the fair covered 200,000 square metres of exhibition space and drew government agencies, chambers of commerce and corporate delegates from 129 countries and regions and 30 international organisations.
For companies weighing where to place overseas capacity, the value of CIFIT Xiamen is that it puts destination investment promotion agencies and outbound manufacturers in the same hall: policy positions, industrial park conditions and cooperation intentions can be compared within a few days rather than through separate country visits.
Cambodia at the opening ceremony
Sun Chanthol, Deputy Prime Minister and First Vice Chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, attended the opening ceremony and spoke on Cambodia’s investment environment and development opportunities.
The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) is the authority responsible for investment project approval and investment promotion. Senior participation at an international investment event reflects how actively the country has courted manufacturing investment, particularly as tariffs and supply chain restructuring push the question of where to locate capacity to the top of the agenda.
Bringing the conversation back to execution
Across those conversations, three practical questions came up again and again: where to put capacity, how to connect the supply chain, and how long entry takes.
Manhattan Special Economic Zone was established in 2005 in Bavet, Svay Rieng Province, on the corridor linking Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City. It provides industrial land, ready-built factories, build-to-suit construction and entry support services. For companies still in evaluation, how factory space and industrial land are priced and how long the administrative setup process takes usually shape the project timeline more than an initial expression of interest at a trade fair.
From a trade fair contact to an operating factory
Manhattan Special Economic Zone will build on this participation to keep connecting quality investment resources and to provide more efficient and more complete landing services for companies investing and building factories in Cambodia.
An initial contact at CIFIT Xiamen is only the first step. What really determines the pace of an investment is whether land, factory space, approvals and labour can advance on the same timeline, which is exactly what a one-stop service inside an SEZ exists to do.
