For the first time, the World Trade Organization (WTO) will co-sponsor the 17th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) in September, the CIFIT organizing committee announced Thursday.

Harsha Vardhana Singh, deputy director-general of the WTO, will lead a delegation to attend the 17th CIFIT and give a keynote speech at an investment forum, according to the CIFIT organizing committee.

The WTO's participation will bring the number of CIFIT's co-sponsors to six. Other co-sponsors include the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Finance Corporation and the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, the CIFIT has been held in Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province, annually since 1997. It is currently the largest global investment event approved by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI).