Spotlight on China brands at Milan Expo

Fast-globalizing Chinese companies plan to use the Milan Expo 2015 as a platform to showcase their technology, innovation and brands.

As the May 1 opening day draws nearer, more people are paying attention to the China pavilion. For the first time, Chinese enterprises will have their own pavilion at the event. The China Corporate United Pavilion and property company China Vanke Co Ltd's own pavilion are part of the China Pavilion, which is the second-largest foreign pavilion by area.

Given their increasingly advanced technology and vast financial resources, more Chinese companies than ever plan to take their businesses global. They fully understand the value of brands and are starting to develop marketing, planning and execution approaches for the international stage.

Dozens of Chinese companies that are involved with aerospace technology, high-speed railway technology, maritime transport, agriculture and food will feature in the corporate pavilion. China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp and the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, a State-owned aerospace manufacturer, are among those companies.

As the world's second-largest economy, China is undertaking a significant overseas expansion and aiming to export technology and advanced products, which are the kind of things that it used to import.

Pouring huge investment into research and development over many years, Chinese companies are catching up in some important fields. For example, Chinese companies have strong expertise in designing, building and operating a high-speed rail network. Exporting such products will generate new growth opportunities in China's international trade and upgrade many sectors.

Premier Li Keqiang has also urged government departments to boost the overseas expansion of Chinese-developed industrial equipment.

There will be many challenges and protectionist pressures abroad, which Chinese companies know about, and they want to learn how to deal with those problems.

With 145 countries and regions participating, the Expo expects millions of visitors both physically and online. Chinese companies also hope to reach new audiences from every corner of the globe through the event.

As "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life" is the core theme of the Expo, China, an important agricultural country, wants to display its progress in farming, urbanization and the long history of its cuisine. And the nation wants to demonstrate its sustainable development concepts for the future.

What is more, 2015 marks the 45th anniversary of Sino-Italian diplomatic relations, so the Expo is a good venue for China and Italy to communicate more about trade, investment, culture, education and cooperation in agriculture and tourism. China is Italy's second-largest trading partner.

Chinese companies should also see the Milan Expo as a chance to learn about improving food security and making even more progress in the future.