BEIJING — The Expo Central China 2019 will be held from May 18 to 20 in Nanchang city, Jiangxi province, the Ministry of Commerce said.

As of May 1, over 740 enterprises from 29 countries and regions had applied to exhibit, said Vice-Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen.

During the expo, a forum will be held to discuss the problems and difficulties multinationals have encountered in China, especially in the country’s central region, and seek their advice about improving China’s investment environment, Wang said.

He expressed the hope that foreign investors can enhance their understanding of China’s central provinces through the expo and increase investment in the region to share the fruits of China’s economic development.

Various companies will present their flagship products and latest innovations in a total exhibition area of about 70,000 square meters.

Foreign investment in the country’s six central provinces reached 15.93 billion yuan ($2.38 billion) during the first quarter of 2019, up 9.7 percent year-on-year. The growth rate was 3.2 percentage points higher than the national average, Wang said.

Jiangxi province attracted 4.03 billion yuan of foreign investment during the period, representing a remarkable year-on-year growth of 38.3 percent.