This September 16 to 18， an in-ternational coal trade gala washeld in Taiyuan， the nation's coallogistics hub. featuring 312 domestic andforeign enterprises and 115 organizationsfrom 44 countries and regions.

\"It is the first time that Shan xi ishosting such an international-level andprofessional coal summit，\" said SongBeishan， Vice-Governor of ShanxiProvince and Vice-Chairman of the firstChina (Taiyuan) International Coal Energy New Industry Expo.

Minister of Commerce Bo Xilaiinaugurated the Expo on September 17.His presence made a testament to thesignificance of the high profile expo.

Also， on the Expo， Meng Xuenong，the newly appointed Acting Governor ofShanxi， made his first punic appearanceafter taking office this September.

He is widely expected to inject newvigor into the nation's largest coal pro-ducing and transporting province and tostrengthen efforts to ensure China's coalproduction security.

Of the 312 participating enterpris-es， 103 were foreign firms， includingworld coal heavyweights such as SouthAfrica's Sasol， and 218 domestic coalgiants， including Shenhua Group. Topofficials from 10 provinces， municipali-ties and autonomous regions of Chinaattended the Expo， including Beijing，Tianjin， Jiangsu and the Ningxia HuiAutonomous Region， according to Song.

Covering 30，000 square meters， theExpo offered more than 1，500 boothsand daily visitors reached 15，000.

The Expo， contrary to what manymay assume， was much more than justan event for investment promotion， gongemphasizexl.

\"Unlike from the province's invest-ment fair held every two years， this Expois not aimed at attraeting investment forShanxi， but at serving China's whole en-ergy sector better，\" he said.