China Import Expo Roadshows Warm Winter Up

SHANGHAI,Feb. 2,2019 -- While most Chinese are looking forward to their annual homecoming for family reunions,a few are traveling away from home on promo-demo roadshows for the second China International Import Expo (CIIE).

Prior to the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year,these few Chinese from the Commerce Ministry have been traveling 10 countries and have so far signed up and are about to sign exhibitors who would combine to occupy upwards of 100,000 square meters of exhibition floor space in November this year.

Previous Exhibitors Demand Larger Exhibition Area:

Slated for between November 5 and 10,the second edition of the CIIE exposition will offer larger exhibition floor space as against the inaugural edition. The exhibition area for national stands alone will measure 30,000 square meters. Larger still will be areas to be provided with exhibitors of equipment,consumer goods,foodstuff,health products and services which fall into seven categories. On the sidelines,there will be parallel forums which attract more participants than they did last year.

The tourshows hit the road within 30 days of the conclusion of the inaugural import exposition. In a matter of two months,these promoters have set foot on New Zealand,Australia,Indonesia,the United States,Panama,Brazil,Italy,Spain,Portugal and France. Wherever they go,they are greeted by willingness and enthusiasm of attending the second import expo. In New Zealand,Australia and Indonesia,participating enterprises all signed up for over 1,000 square meters of exhibition area for this year. In Italy,quite some well-known Italian enterprises have signed up floor spaces of up to 2,200 square meters. In Spain,three exhibitors have signed up for the import expo and many inquired into the configuration and policy of the exposition.

Exhibitors who were in Shanghai last November have chosen to demand larger floor space for their exhibition this year. As Zhang Li,CEO of FIWA SAS put it,last year's import expo has popularized in China the 60 wines her company brought to the exposition from 30 winemakers in France,Britain and Spain. FIWA SAS has decided therefore to enlarge its exhibition area by three folds so as to bring more European wines to the Chinese market. CEO of L'Oreal China,Stephane Rinderknech,says the import expo is not only a window China opens toward the world,it serves more as a proactive promoter to trade globalization.

The Cake Grows Ever Bigger:

January 31st was the deadline for preferential treatment of applications for the second CIIE exposition. As the date drew closer,more exhibitors had vied against time to meet the date. A more crowded second CIIE exposition has already loomed larger on the horizon.

Pundits have attributed the growing CIIE popularity to the reciprocal benefits the import expo has brought along to exhibitors.

Economic Benefits:

Exhibitors at the inaugural import expo have taken home a combined total of trade deals amounting to 57.83 billion U.S. dollars executable for within 12 months. Augusto Castro,China regional manager for Brazil Export and Investment Bureau,adds some 150 times of getting Brazil in the news with major Chinese media outlets apart from bagging home over 100 million U.S. dollars of trade deals. Likewise,Panama has left Shanghai with 30 million U.S. dollars of signed trade deals.

Market opportunities:

China is a country with almost 1.4 billion people. Consumption in this populous country is fast upgrading itself. Last year alone,both the domestic consumption and the volume of imported consumer goods and services grew 10 percent. In the 15 years yet to come,China is expected to import 30 trillion U.S. dollars worth of goods and 10 trillion dollars worth of services. Trade flows of such magnitude serve not only as a steady driver for global growth,but also help provide opportunities for enterprises elsewhere. Kylie Bell,trade and industry minister of New South Wales in Australia,describes the China import expo as a fast and express train for local enterprises aspiring to get to the Chinese market. Mike Arend,China advisor for New Zealand Trade and Development Bureau,expects to cement cooperation with the China International Import Expo Bureau so as to better support more New Zealand SMEs with their efforts on getting the Chinese market through the import exposition. Spanish secretary of state for trade,Xiana Mendez,says: "As China quickens its opening-up steps,her move will bring along new opportunities for Spanish enterprises to attend the import expo and to forge developmental cooperation in trade."

Cooperation Platform and Solutions:

As against the current backdrop of international trade,the China International Import Expo has been taken by many enterprises as a China Solution for promoting economic globalization. Vladimir Makatsaria,chairman of Johnson&Johnson China and global chairman of Ethicon,believes that the China import expo is not only a demonstration arena for goods and services,but also a multi-purpose and encompassing platform for international cooperation. The import expo is of special significance in promoting economic and trade cooperation and growth as well as in boosting an open economy worldwide. Marco Bettino,secretary-general of Italy-China Chamber of Commerce,says the inaugural import expo has helped smooth a number of Italian SMEs through their bottlenecks of financial and human resources and time-costs which in turn help them with improving branding and servicing capabilities in getting to global markets. The secretary-general says: "One way to see it,the import expo is a pioneer in the era of electronic commerce and digitalization. The import expo has brought together exporters of various description for face-on exchanges aimed at further opening-up and cooperation." Like many exhibitors having summed up,the CIIE exposition has set up a sound and solid stage for economic and trade cooperation between China and Italy and the import expo serves a smooth doorway for exporters to get to the Chinese market. The import expo not only promotes Italian brands but also presents better platform for trade negotiations.

"New Era,Shared Future" is the theme of the China International Import Expo. It is the invitation China sends out to exporters and exhibitors from around the world. Welcome are enterprises with their quality and unique products,technologies and services with competitive edges. Their products,technologies and services will share the benefits of the fast-growing,open economy of China.

The CIIE hosts would like to remind exhibitors of the final date for application for attendance in the second CIIE exposition. The date falls on April 30th and is two months ahead of last year's application deadline. Aspiring exhibitors are encouraged to apply well before that date. They can apply through the CIIE official website at www.ciie.org.