Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai, November 3 (Reporters Su Liang and Xu Xiaoqing) Along the Huangpu River, there is a surge of opening up; beside the "four-leaf clover", guests and friends gather. From November 5th to 10th, the 9th China International Import Expo will be held in Shanghai.
From China’s invitation to the world to the CIIE to global partners attending the event every year, this event has gone through nine years and witnessed the mutual achievements between China and the world through openness and common development through cooperation.
The National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai) taken on November 2. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ding Ting
After nine years of CIIE, changes have been quietly taking place inside and outside the booth. What has changed is not only the exhibits and scale, but also the breadth and depth of the connection between the Chinese market and the world economy. From multinational companies deeply cultivating China, to developing countries' specialty products moving from China to a broader market; from accelerating the docking of cutting-edge technologies to the continuous extension of industrial chain and supply chain cooperation, the CIIE continues to expand the space for open cooperation. Against the background of rising uncertainty in the world economy and profound adjustments to the international economic and trade pattern, global merchants from all over the world are once again rushing to this opening-up appointment, looking forward to exploring new opportunities in the Chinese market and creating new value through openness and integration.
After nine years together, the connotation of CIIE has become richer
From a booth of more than 50 square meters to a display space of hundreds of square meters, Honeywell's "growth curve" at the ninth CIIE reflects the company's confidence in deeply exploring the Chinese market. Over the years, Honeywell has displayed more than 170 innovative technologies, products and solutions at the CIIE, and most of the results have been implemented in the Chinese market. For this multinational company, the CIIE is no longer just a window to display technology, but also an important platform to understand the needs of the Chinese market, connect with industrial partners, and promote the implementation of innovative results.
At this CIIE, there were “old friends” and “quanqin students” who have participated in the exhibition continuously, as well as “fresh faces” and “new friends” who made their first appearance at the CIIE. Gault Millau, a gourmet guide originating from France, is actively preparing for the company’s “debut” at the CIIE. This old and authoritative European food guide founded in 1969 will launch a number of activities at the CIIE to let the Chinese market understand its global business.
Layoune, chairman and CEO of Gault Millau, told reporters that companies hope to use the CIIE to meet new partners and expand business networks, and they also look forward to relying on their own resources to promote Chinese food to the international market. For Gault Millo, who just entered the Chinese market in June this year, the CIIE is not only a display window, but also a new starting point to connect Chinese and foreign markets and develop two-way cooperation.
On October 28, in Paris, France, Patrick Layoune, chairman and CEO of the food guide brand Gault Millau, accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Huiwo
The ninth CIIE once again refreshed the scale of the exhibition and the lineup of exhibitors. Data shows that 162 countries, regions and international organizations, and 4,142 overseas companies will participate in the ninth CIIE, with the total exhibition area exceeding 440,000 square meters. At this CIIE, there will be more than 2,000 exhibiting companies for the first time, and the number of Fortune 500 companies and industry leading companies will exceed 300 for the first time. There are more than 480 exhibits premiering in the world, Asia for the first time, and China for the first time, setting a new high in history. Behind the data is the continued optimism of global companies for the Chinese market, and it is also a reflection of the increasing international influence of the CIIE.
Over the past nine years, the connotation of the CIIE has been quietly changing. In 2018, the first CIIE brought more foreign products into China; now, it has become an important platform connecting global innovation, industries and markets.
The CIIE has become the “debut venue” for new global technologies. Many companies have brought new products, new technologies and new models to the CIIE, perfected their products, discovered needs through interactions with partners and consumers, and promoted innovative products and technologies to mature, land in China, and even spread around the world from here. More and more leading companies in the industry choose to "discuss swords" here, making the exhibition area a platform for new technology exchanges and confrontations, and the exhibition has also become a benchmark for future industry development trends; the CIIE has become a "docking field" for Chinese and foreign companies to complement each other's advantages. During last year’s CIIE, China Construction International signed agreements with Schneider Electric, Hitachi Elevator, Grundfos, Siemens and many other international companies to integrate their respective global supply chain resources and jointly develop third-party markets; the CIIE has also become a "dialogue venue" for the exchange of ideas. The Hongqiao International Forum, held concurrently with the exhibition, brings together experts and scholars from various fields to conduct in-depth exchanges and share insights around global economic governance, international trade, technological innovation, green development and other topics. They can analyze development trends and build consensus on cooperation through the collision of ideas.
From an exhibition to an important platform for open cooperation, from product display to deep integration of the industrial chain, the Expo has become larger and larger in scale, with more and more functions, and its circle of friends has become larger and larger in the past nine years.
Share opportunities and open up new space for growth relying on the large market
In Zanzibar, Tanzania, seaweed farmer Bahati Isa Suleiman is looking forward to the opening of the new CIIE. In recent years, Zanzibar companies have established direct contact with Chinese partners through the China International Import Expo, gradually opening up sales of seaweed soap, shampoo and other specialty products in China.
Suleiman told reporters that local people have always relied on growing seaweed to support their families, but before, due to lack of sales and meager income, it was difficult to improve their lives. The CIIE allows them to see opportunities to open new markets. "Zanzibar is far away from China, and ordinary farmers cannot go to China to find customers, but the CIIE can allow Chinese companies and consumers to learn about seaweed products, allowing us to gradually get rid of poverty and live a better life."
From hometown customs to international markets, the CIIE provides entrepreneurs from developing countries and emerging market economies with opportunities to expand markets and enhance product value. This year, Farhad Omid, the head of Afghanistan’s saffron enterprise, is preparing to participate in the CIIE with local specialty saffron, dried fruits and natural plant products.
Omid participated in the CIIE for the first time last year and met many Chinese partners. Since then, a year of market exploration has given Omid’s team more confidence. He said that the company not only hopes to sell more products, but also looks forward to exploring technical cooperation with Chinese companies, learning food deep processing technology, and increasing the added value of local agricultural products.
On September 9, in Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d'Ivoire, Nathalie Kaye, founder of Two Seasons Co., Ltd., was interviewed by a reporter from Xinhua News Agency. Kai will look for business opportunities for the country’s specialty agricultural product, dried mango, at the CIIE. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hong Zehua
The CIIE connects not only commodities and markets, but also the development expectations of business entities of different countries and sizes. For some developing countries, the key to integrating into global trade lies not only in whether they have distinctive products, but also in whether they can find a stable market and obtain technology and industrial chain support. The CIIE, relying on China's ultra-large-scale market, provides companies from all over the world with opportunities to display products, meet demand, and find partners.
Development opportunities extend beyond commodity trading. Facing a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, although some countries and small and medium-sized enterprises have innovative achievements, they lack channels to enter the wider market and connect with industrial resources. The CIIE opens a window for these innovative forces. British Balam Technology contacted Chinese partners at the CIIE and successfully put energy-saving products that are still in the laboratory stage into communication base stations in Shaanxi, Qinghai and other places for field testing. It has already received orders worth millions of dollars. Yuefan Medical from Canada has opened up the Chinese market by participating in consecutive exhibitions and commercialized its products many years earlier than expected.
From specialty agricultural products to cutting-edge technology, from ordinary growers to innovative enterprises, the CIIE has continuously expanded the boundaries of global cooperation over the past nine years, allowing more countries and enterprises the opportunity to ride on the express train of innovative development and share growth opportunities through open cooperation.
Let’s “move forward” together and inspire future momentum through open cooperation
"The most important value of the CIIE is to establish an open mechanism that connects China and the world, and connects market demand and industrial capabilities." Satoshi Shimizu, global president of Japanese company MUJI, told reporters that the CIIE allows global companies to see that China's high-level opening up brings not only market opportunities, but also opportunities to create common value. The industrial cooperation and experience formed in the Chinese market are providing assistance to the global development of enterprises.
At present, the world's economic growth momentum is insufficient, and geopolitical conflicts and trade protectionism have brought more uncertainties to international economic and trade cooperation. The adjustment of global industrial and supply chains is accelerating, and cross-border trade and investment are facing a more complex situation.
Under such a background, open cooperation becomes more valuable. China's initiative to open its market not only provides opportunities for goods and services from various countries to enter China, but also creates more stable and predictable conditions for international economic and trade cooperation.
Looking back on the company's years of cooperation with China, Lu Xinran (foreign name: Luciana Blum), managing director of global external affairs of Vale Brazil, said that the current global economy is facing multiple uncertainties, and insisting on open cooperation will help reduce the interference of non-economic factors on the industrial and supply chains and create better conditions for the stable recovery of the world economy. The CIIE has been held for many years in a row, which is an important example of China’s insistence on expanding high-level opening up and sharing market opportunities with the world.
This is the scene of the entry ceremony of the first batch of exhibits of the 9th CIIE taken at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai) on October 26. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fang Zhe
"Globalization has never been an abstract concept, but is actually reflected in ships of iron ore, low-carbon technology cooperation, and transnational supply chain projects." Lu Xinran said.
The CIIE has witnessed the development and growth of many global companies and has become a window for the world to observe China's high-level opening up to the outside world.
In recent years, the breadth and depth of China's opening up to the outside world have continued to expand: the Hainan Free Trade Port and other pilot free trade zones have continued to deepen their reform and opening up pilots, actively aligned with international high-standard economic and trade rules, and promoted institutional opening up; restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector have been comprehensively removed, and the opening up of the manufacturing industry has reached a new level; a negative list for cross-border trade in services has been introduced to promote the integration of service trade management rules with international standards; and Continue to optimize the foreign investment environment, expand pilot openings in telecommunications, medical and other fields; implement high-level free trade agreements, deepen regional economic and trade cooperation, and constantly optimize measures to facilitate personnel exchanges to make the cross-border flow of personnel, technology, goods and services smoother... From market access to the connection of rules, from trade in goods to trade in services, China's door to opening up is opening wider and wider, and the space for cooperation continues to expand.
The appointment at the CIIE will be kept as scheduled every year; the road to cooperation will go forward hand in hand. Faced with the uncertainty of the world economy, the message sent by the CIIE is particularly clear: only by adhering to openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefit and win-win can all countries expand the space for common development. China will continue to create opportunities for the world through its own opening up, work with other countries to turn cooperation potential into development momentum, and continue to add confidence to global economic growth.
