Several Chinese cities have signed strategic partnership agreements with Asian Electronic Sports Federation to promote esports as a new economic growth engine on Friday.

The signing ceremony between Guiyang of Guizhou province, Longyan of Fujian province, and Suzhou of Jiangsu province took place at the ongoing China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

It is the first time that an esports organization has made its presence in the expo since its inaugural edition in 2018.

Sebastian Lau, director general of the AESF, said, "I believe that the collaboration between the AESF and the CIIE will provide the best opportunity for esports to connect with industries related to the esports ecosystem in China."

Chen Weili, CEO of Duosport, a strategic partner of the federation in Shanghai, said the company will work with AESF to organize an esports competition for Asian college students in the city next year.