Nearly 30 corporate CEOs from Chengdu Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone launched June 1 a business tour in Barcelona, to seek and share opportunities for cooperation with their Spanish counterparts in investment, trade and technology.

On June 2 (local time), at a trade and investment forum co-organized by Chengdu Hi-tech Zone and Catalonian Trade Bureau and convened in Barcelona, the Chinese representatives from sci-tech innovation-oriented companies in Chengdu held about 100 business talks with those from 49 Spanish corporations, and 65 preliminary agreements for collaboration were reached.

In addition, representatives from Chengdu discussed with their counterparts from the Center for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) of Spain on how Chengdu companies could involve in the Bilateral Spanish-Chinese Program for Technological Cooperation (Chineka).

Co-launched by China's Torch High Technology Industry Development Center and Spain's CDIT in 2005, Chineka is aimed to promote technological cooperation between entities in both Spain and China. It is open to corporate applicants all the year round. To get a 50 percent subsidy, each successful small-sized applicant can get a minimum amount of 150,000 euros. To date, 11 companies from Sichuan have obtained financial support from the Program.