SHANGHAI, March 1(Xinhua) -- The 28th East China Fair, the largest regional trade fair in China, opened in Shanghai Thursday.

Nearly 4,000 Chinese companies and more than 460 overseas companies are taking part in the four-day event. Over 5,700 booths, arranged under five categories from garments to modern lifestyle, cover an exhibition area of 123,600 square meters.

A memorandum on trade facilitation and cooperation among Belt and Road countries was signed on the first day.

Customs figures show China achieved a trade volume of 7.37 trillion yuan (about 1.14 trillion U.S. dollars) with Belt and Road countries in 2017, accounting for 26.5 percent of the country's total foreign trade.

The annual fair, established in 1991, is jointly held by nine provinces and cities in east China. It is regarded as an important barometer of China's foreign trade.