The 18th Urumqi Trade Fair, China's only business event targeting central, west and south Asia, opened Tuesday, nearly two months after a riot in the city.

The trade fair has attracted more than 500 overseas businessmen from 29 countries and regions, including Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It also attracted many business people from 21 inland provinces and municipalities.

The trade fair, in the capital city of northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, covers an area of 35,000 sq m and has more than 2,000 exhibition booths.

The exhibition booths were sold out before the fair began, and is proof that the riot did not change Xinjiang's geographical advantage, said Nur Bekri, the regional government chairman.

The riot on July 5 left 197 people dead and more than 1,600 injured.

The annual trade fair first started in 1992. The total value of contracts signed with overseas businessmen at the fair in the past 17 years has reached $31.7 billion.

The fair will end on Saturday.