Permanently hosting the Fortune Brainstorm Tech International Conference in Guangzhou will help transform the city into a higher-level technology hub in the future, said a senior government official of Guangzhou in South China.

"The conference will attract more companies to invest and develop in Guangzhou, and Guangzhou would further take this opportunity to encourage local enterprises to go global and deepen cooperation with enterprises from all over the world," said Cai Chaolin, a member of the Standing Committee of Guangzhou's Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Cai made the remarks Friday as the 2017 Fortune Global Forum closed in Guangzhou.

Themed "Openess and Innovation: Shaping the Global Economy", the forum attracted more than 1,100 representatives from 36 countries and regions globally. Among the attending 388 companies, 152 are Fortune Global 500 companies.

Alan Murray, president of Fortune and chief content officer of the US-based group Time Inc, said the forum gave a much clearer view of the remarkable innovation that is happening in China.

"President Xi Jinping made clear in his congratulatory letter on the opening of the forum that China will pursue reforms to create an open environment for innovation, creativity and further economic development. And the attendees, especially the CEOs, were greatly impressed with the message," Murray said.