The second China International Import Expo (CIIE) event was held this month from November 5-10, 2019 and more than 1,000 business enterprises attended the expo. Different industry sectors arrived in Shanghai with great expectations.
Have a look at our previous article Industry Spotlight: China’s Imported Food & Beverage Market 06
Find out this year’s highlights and catch up on the latest business trends in China!
What is CIIE for?
CIIE is of China’s initiatives toward economic globalization and opening-up. It was first held in 2018 and was dubbed as the first-ever national-level import exposition in the world. It attracted a huge number of traders, entrepreneurs, and large-scale companies
Many companies from all sizes had the opportunity to market themselves and find more business partners.
This year’s CIIE gained a big value of deals worth $71.13 billion. The number went 23 percent higher than last year. More global participants came from 181 countries, regions and international organizations while 3,800 enterprises put up their own exhibits.
CIIE organizers divided the exhibitions into seven categories:
- Consumer electronics and appliances
- Apparel, accessories and consumer goods
- Automobiles
- High-intelligent equipment
- Food and agricultural products
- Medical equipment and health care products
- Trade services
Highlights
Foreign companies were satisfied
The 2019 CIIE brought together thousands of foreign companies and the six-day event became ‘rewarding and forward-looking’ to business speculators from all over the world.
Honeywell, a US-based industrial conglomerate, was satisfied with how the deals from last year were well-implemented. Because of that, the company decided to participate again in this year’s expo. Furthermore, they struck more deals with interested clients.
On the other hand, many Australian businesses from diverse sectors also came to Shanghai and successfully met potential business partners. According to Australia’s consul general Dominic Trindade, a lot of these Australian companies are optimistic about returning in the next year’s event.
Meanwhile, the CIIE bureau confirmed that after the second CIIE, more than 230 companies from across countries have already registered for next year.
The rise of SMEs purchasing power
The trade shows provided a venue for small and medium-sized companies or enterprises to participate immensely and take advantage of opportunities.
Small foreign exhibitors made deals with Chinese counterparts during the event. In fact, 67 percent of the total registered firms came from the purchasing groups, including SMEs and private firms both locally and internationally.
According to Morgan Stanley, American investment and financial company, China’s lower-tier cities are increasing their consumption and can triple up to US$6.9 trillion by 2030. This means a lot to overseas companies especially foreign-invested enterprises. This will enable them to further tap into China’s huge market potential.
Bilateral trades boosted
The Philippines is one of the big winners of this year’s CIIE which was made possible by a ramp-up bilateral trade with China. According to the country’s trade secretary, the Philippines earned around US$300 million in sales, which doubled up last year’s sales at CIIE.
Fresh bananas, pineapples, mangoes, and durian mostly consisted of the big chunk of sales in agricultural products. The Philippine exhibitors also sold processed fruits and nuts and other coconut-based products to many Chinese buyers and consumers.
After the opening ceremony at the CIIE, many foreign leaders also took a tour of the exhibitions. French President Emmanuel Macron, for example, visited the French exhibition area and exchanged views with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
On the other hand, President Xi expressed hopes for more French entrepreneurs to establish long-term and mutually beneficial relations with China.
The CIIE organization also took notice of tighter bilateral relations that China established with Brazil, India, and Greece.
Conclusion
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s keynote address at the opening ceremony encourages bilateral leaders and foreign businesses to work together and build an open world economy. By that, Xi intends to help build a world environment of cooperation, innovation and mutual benefits.
CIIE is one of China’s promises to continue opening its market and optimize the opening-up structure at the same time. Xi added in his keynote address that China will continue to improve the business landscape for foreign investors. He cited the introduction of a New Foreign Investment Law to take effect in January 2020.
Xi also addressed the CIIE participants on deepening multilateral and bilateral ties with foreign countries and international institutions including the World Trade Organization (WTO).
China ranks 31st in the Ease of Doing Business 2020 report by the World Bank. It is not surprising that the Chinese government continues to level up the playing field when it comes to its economy, business, and trade.If you want to know more about doing business in China, contact our team for inquiries and follow us on social media to get the latest news!
Our experienced team has the necessary expertise and the know-how to support you with your business – have a look at the services we offer.
See how much salary you receive after tax and check your company value without leaving WeChat!
Also, our Mini Program can estimate the salary in your industry, for your experience level and position. A huge help for salary negotiations!
