The fourth China-Arab States Expo will be held in Yinchuan, capital of Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, from Sept 5-8.

The event is being held to facilitate trade and investment cooperation, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.

The expo, themed New Opportunity, New Future, will explore cooperation opportunities between China and Arab states in areas such as trade and investment, Internet Plus, cross-border e-commerce, infrastructure, and capacity cooperation, Qian Keming, vice-minister of commerce, said at a news conference on Friday.

Six exhibitions, eight investment and trade facilitation activities, and four conferences and forums will be held at the expo, while 73 foreign business associations and enterprises have preliminarily confirmed their attendance, said Liu Kewei, vice-chairman of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

The Ministry of Commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the Ningxia Hui autonomous region government will co-host the expo.

Initiated in 2013, the China-Arab States Expo has become an open international platform facilitating economic cooperation between China and Arab states, as well as other economies taking part in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Last year, trade between China and Arab states totaled $244.3 billion, up 28 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

The expo has also contributed to the growth and opening-up of Ningxia, which has seen a steady growth in foreign trade and attracted $1.06 billion worth of foreign direct investment in the past five years, Liu said.