CIIE showcases nation's enormous market potential

Anyone wanting to get a better idea of an influential expo that showcases China's high-level opening-up and vast market potential — offering tremendous opportunities for global participants — should visit the China International Import Expo in Shanghai in early November.

Since its inception in 2018, the CIIE has seen remarkable success over the past seven years, marked by growing attendance and steadily increasing turnover each year. It has become a symbol of China's new development model, a premier platform for high-level openness and a valuable global service.

When the six-day exhibition closed on Nov 10, the value of tentative deals reached at the seventh CIIE had risen 2 percent year-on-year to exceed $80 billion, according to data released by the CIIE Bureau, one of the expo's organizers.

Many foreign business executives told me that amid unprecedented global changes and a sluggish economic recovery, they view the CIIE as a key that unlocks the door to China's vast market. The tremendous market opportunities attract numerous multinational corporations to deepen their presence in China.

They said that while many of them showcased their most advanced technologies at this year's CIIE, the innovations may still be years away from practical application. These early demonstrations indicate that those companies are actively seeking potential partners in China.

Yann Bozec, president for Asia-Pacific at Tapestry Inc, the United States-based luxury goods company, said that the CIIE offers companies the chance to engage and connect with numerous clients, government representatives, media, peers and business partners, while also receiving real-time market feedback on product innovations showcased at their exhibits.

Echoing similar views, Roy Jakobs, CEO of Royal Philips, a Dutch multinational industrial conglomerate, emphasized that healthcare is a key focus for the group in China. "To closely align with medical practices, we need proximity to hospitals, technology innovation companies and government agencies. All of them are represented at the CIIE," he noted.

Apparently, the vast opportunities and growth potential of the Chinese market remain difficult for multinational companies to ignore. As they have been adjusting their investment strategies, the structure of foreign investment in China is continuously optimized.

To seek new growth points and sustain their growth in China, many foreign companies are actively aligning with domestic industrial upgrading trends.

For example, they have gradually closed or relocated production lines for products such as computers and home appliances in China, while increasing production lines for high-tech products like industrial robots, new materials and new energy batteries, as well as expanding their investment in research and development centers.

To create more opportunities for global businesses, the seventh CIIE established a new materials zone within the technical equipment hall to foster international exchange and innovation in the field of new materials.

The automobile section brought together exhibitors specializing in autonomous driving, low-altitude economy and new energy storage, showcasing the key elements of future mobility. Among these were a series of debut exhibits representing the development of new quality productive forces, covering a wide range of cutting-edge technology areas, including high-end equipment and new materials.

New quality productive forces refer to advanced productivity freed from traditional economic growth modes and productivity development paths. It features high technology, high efficiency and high quality, and is in line with the new development philosophy.

To continue to upgrade and improve its business environment, the Chinese government has fully lifted restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, ensuring equal treatment for foreign companies in resource access, licensing, standards and government procurement.