Trading event best chance for MNCs' global pivot

The eighth China International Import Expo offers a great opportunity for multinational corporations to build a global pivot, and turn exhibits into commodities, experts and executives said.

Stefan Oelrich, a member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and head of its pharmaceuticals division, said: "The CIIE is an important venue, where import decisionmakers come together in China. For us, it's absolutely key to have a good presence there.

"We're looking to showcase part of our pipelines that are making good progress, and pleased with China being a market where we participate in doing clinical trials and launching innovation incubators. In addition, we are also pleased that we see a better access in the biotech sector that needs capital support that we could provide," he said.

As a company that will take part in the expo for the eighth consecutive year, Bayer said the CIIE is a key platform that drives high-standard development through high-level opening-up.

New Zealand-headquartered Silver Fern Farms is also a "full-attendance student" at the CIIE.

Speaking of the expo's spillover effect, Dan Boulton, chief executive of SFF, said that the CIIE offers a platform for the company to share New Zealand's natural goodness with the Chinese market. This year, SFF will showcase New Zealand grass-fed mini beef and cheeseburgers.

"China, New Zealand's largest trading partner, saw bilateral trade exceed 38 billion NZD ($21.9 billion) in 2024. The complementary value cooperation between the two countries has created unparalleled trade opportunities, paving new ways for enterprises from the two countries to advance exchange and cooperation," Boulton said.

Data from the Bureau of the China International Import Expo showed that last year's expo witnessed signed yearly deals worth over $80 billion, up 2 percent year-on-year.

"The CIIE is attracting more and more attention, and it keeps evolving, not only as a stage to showcase products, but also as a platform for cross-border and cross-sector collaborations. Chinese customers are also seeking integrated smart solutions designed for their industry's full life cycle, rather than only individual products. These offer us great opportunities," said Anu Rathninde, president for Asia-Pacific at US-based smart building solutions provider Johnson Controls.

Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said: "The CIIE accelerates the landing of foreign investment projects, drives collaborative innovation in the upstream and downstream of the local industrial chain, and forms a virtuous cycle of 'introduction-absorption-reinnovation'; the expo also optimizes the business environment through policy docking and institutional innovation, provides long-term development guarantees for multinational enterprises, and achieves the continuous transformation of 'exhibits into commodities and exhibitors into investors'."

Susan Gu, general manager of Haleon Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, said: "We personally experienced the accelerated transformation of 'exhibits into products'. Our products that have appeared in previous CIIEs have all achieved unexpected market responses after entering the Chinese market."