Expo expected to advance trade amid challenges

The third China International Consumer Products Expo, which started in the southern island province of Hainan on Monday and runs through Saturday, is expected to help increase the country's premium consumer product imports and give a boost to international trade amid multiple challenges facing the world economy, officials and company executives said.

China's pace of upgrading consumption has significantly accelerated, and both traditional and emerging consumption sectors have witnessed growth. Consumption has continued to strengthen its fundamental role of helping boost economic growth, Vice-Premier He Lifeng said via video link during the opening ceremony of the expo in Haikou, capital of Hainan.

This year, the expo attracted the participation of more than 3,300 brands from home and abroad, while more than 1,000 new products are set to make their debut. Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said the expo will help strengthen the ties between exhibitors and buyers, stimulate vitality, boost consumer confidence and promote consumption upgrade.

The 2023 expo is focusing on hot topics such as green, healthy, fashion and technology-driven consumption, and it will host a series of activities to promote consumption, Wang said.

"China's economic growth shows a positive prospect, offering new growth opportunities for multinational corporations, especially for international consumer product brands," said Bai Ming, deputy director of international market research at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing.

Industrial participants said the expo will serve as an important stage to help promote the building of Hainan into an international tourism consumption center and a market platform for high-quality consumer goods.

To benefit from the favorable business policies of the Hainan Free Trade Port, Pernod Ricard — the world's second-largest maker of wines and spirits — has opened four duty-free stores in the island province.

"We will continue to deeply explore China's vast market of imported wines and spirits, and seize market opportunities by drawing on Hainan's policy advantages. We expect to provide Chinese consumers with more premium products and exquisite experiences, thus injecting new dynamics into the thriving Chinese market," said Jerome Cottin-Bizonne, managing director of Pernod Ricard China.

China's consumer market is second only to the size of the one in the United States. In 2022, China imported consumer goods worth 1.93 trillion yuan ($280 billion), up 75.8 percent compared with 2017, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

During the opening ceremony, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said via video link that Italy considered it a great distinction to be the guest country of honor at the expo. The European nation is participating in the expo this year with some 150 brands. Meloni said that thanks to the expo, Italian products are expected to gain more favor from Chinese consumers and also others globally.

Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido Group, a three-time participant of the expo, said that China's market scale for cosmetics is on track to become the world's largest, and the country has become the source and driving force of global innovation.

"Participating in the expo has given us greater confidence in the enormous opportunities unleashed by the consumer sector in China, with the country's further opening-up," said Yu Lili, head of corporate communications at Shiseido China.