Xi Story: CIIE, an embodiment of Xi's vision of opening-up

SHANGHAI -- The eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world's first national-level import-themed expo personally conceived and promoted by President Xi Jinping, opened in Shanghai on Wednesday.

It sets record highs for both exhibition area and exhibitor numbers, reflecting the appeal of China's commitment to opening its market wider and sharing the opportunities of its growth with the world.

CIIE A SYMBOL OF OPENING-UP

China has consistently advocated for high-standard opening-up that aligns with international norms and encourages deeper integration with the world.

The CIIE embodies this ambitious vision.

The expo is "a major policy for China to push for a new round of high-level opening-up, and a major measure for China to take the initiative to open its market to the world," Xi said when delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the first CIIE in 2018.

His involvement in subsequent expos has invariably highlighted China as a massive, welcoming market, and has delivered a message to global audience weary of trade frictions: China's door will only open wider.

Projecting an image of China as a staunch defender of an open world economy amid rising global protectionism, the CIIE has recorded the country's steadfastness in ensuring fairness and cooperation.

According to official data, the previous seven expos cumulatively showcased over 3,000 new products, technologies and services, resulting in an intended transaction volume totaling over 500 billion U.S. dollars and attracting 23,000 overseas exhibitors.

The United States, Japan, Germany and France have ranked among the top participators in terms of their exhibition scale, with U.S. companies maintaining the largest exhibition area at the expo for seven consecutive years.

"Progress of the human society requires continued efforts of all countries to advance opening-up, cooperation and win-win development, instead of seclusion, confrontation and monopoly," Xi stressed at the opening ceremony of the first CIIE.

China is a developing country with vast consumer potential and, by advocating for a more inclusive type of multilateralism, acts as a catalyst for fairer global growth. The CIIE is a symbol of this advocacy, and is a place where all countries, including the world's least-developed countries, can share the benefits of trade and investment.

Xi has stressed that in a world of deepening economic globalization, practices of the law of the jungle and winner-takes-all only lead to a dead end while inclusive growth for all is surely the right way forward.

Since its inception, the CIIE has offered countries in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America access to China's high-demand sectors. Rwandan coffee, for example, has seen exponential growth in Chinese market shares, spurring local economies and creating jobs.

Through the CIIE, China has introduced opportunities for companies involved in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, renewable energy and smart manufacturing to enter the Chinese market.

This year's expo attracts 4,108 overseas exhibitors, representing an increase of over 600 from the previous year and highlighting its resilience as a major platform for global trade despite economic headwinds. Among the exhibitors are approximately 290 Fortune Global 500 firms and leading industry players.

The CIIE acts as a platform showcasing China's vast domestic market while amplifying the country's commitment to global engagement through mutually beneficial cooperation.

Xi said at the opening ceremony of the second CIIE in 2019 that "the Chinese market is such a big one that you should all come and see what it has to offer," adding that China will reach out its arms and offer countries around the world more market, investment and growth opportunities.

"China will remain a strong advocate of openness at the global level, and will continue to be a stable engine of global growth, a big market with enormous opportunities, and an active supporter of global governance reform," Xi has said.

XI'S opening-up VISION A BOON FOR WORLD

Relying on platforms like the CIIE, China's vast market and high-standard opening-up are constantly adding a warm current into the world economy, and confidence and impetus into global development.

This high-standard opening-up is a conceptual revolution rooted in the necessity of high-quality development -- a strategic shift that represents a commitment to deeper, more sophisticated integration into the global system.

In June, World Economic Forum President Borge Brende said that the challenges the world faces today require countries to "move from competition to cooperation, from fragmentation to collaboration."

"China has long been a vital partner in this regard. Its entrepreneurial ecosystem, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence, the digital economy, advanced manufacturing, green innovation and others, continues to be a powerful driver of global growth," he noted.

To translate China's opening-up commitment into global confidence, Xi has consistently championed high-standard opening-up as a source of certainty in an uncertain world.

In July, for example, when Xi received the credentials of 16 new ambassadors to China in Beijing, he underscored that China will expand its high-standard opening-up steadfastly and share the benefits of its supersized market so that its advancement will bring new opportunities for other countries and inject greater certainty into global economic growth.

"Investing in China is investing in the future" is a point Xi has reiterated on many occasions.

This reassurance is often cited by foreign investors as it is always paired with examples of China's practices, including strengthening communication with foreign businesses, providing as much convenience as possible for these businesses to trade and invest in China, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of these businesses in accordance with the law.

There are only 29 items remaining on China's negative list for foreign investment, and none are in the manufacturing sector. Additionally, China is universally recognized as one of the safest countries in the world, and it provides a good business environment for the global business community.

"We should draw momentum from opening-up to propel reform and development, and we should share opportunities with the rest of the world and promote common development," according to the Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan, which was recently adopted at the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

As Xi highlighted at the recent APEC CEO Summit, China can provide more growth opportunities for the global business community. China is now the world's second-largest consumption and import market, and it is the only developing country that hosts a national-level international import expo and continually opens its market to the world.

"We are continually advancing high-level opening-up, and striving to help all sides succeed through greater openness and connectivity," he said.