A total of 154 deals worth more than 2 billion yuan ($ 289 million) were signed on Saturday between the military and private firms at the 4th military-civilian high-tech equipment exhibition in Beijing, as China continues to promote its military-civilian integration strategy.
The 176 signatories included 17 affiliated units of armed service branches and 47 affiliated units of defense industry enterprises, according to the Equipment Development Department (EDD) of the Central Military Commission.
The EDD told the Xinhua News Agency the bulk signings are a result of military-civilian pairing activities and follow-up negotiations conducted since September.
A total of 302 exhibitors and 1,349 display items were unveiled at the exhibition, which opened on October 8 at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution.
Mature projects and letters of intent of future cooperation were signed at the event.
Private enterprises and research institutions participated in the expo, which would bring them partners from the military, People's Liberation Army (PLA) Daily reported.
Forums were also held and many well-known academicians, professionals, scholars and representatives of private enterprises were invited to participate in a series of seminars and exchanges, PLA Daily's website reported.
The EDD said the exhibition has combined quality resources from both the military and the civilian sector and will help build a sharing and win-win relationship between the two sides.
Pairings, the practical application of technologies, and enterprises' initiative will be the key to achieving future cooperation, EDD said.
