The China International Import Expo Opened in Shanghai

By Swann Collins, investor, writer and consultant in international affairs – Eurasia Business News, November 6, 2022

Companies from 145 countries and regions of the world are taking part in the fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE), which takes place in Shanghai on November 4-10. The opening ceremony was held on Friday. The organizers of this international exhibition claim that its scale will be larger than last year.

The theme of this year’s Expo is “Stimulating Global Opening-up for Shared Opportunities of Cooperation and Development“.

The Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday that “China will call all countries and parties to share opportunities for deepening international cooperation, fully and deeply participate in the reform of the World Trade Organization, and promote trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation.”

Xi Jinping secured a third term as general secretary at the ruling Communist Party’s twice-a-decade congress last month, where he urged the party to brace for hardship and strengthen national security.

For the past three years, the CIIE has been held under severe anti-Covid restrictions with a significantly smaller number of foreign participants. Most of the events related to business contacts and presentations of foreign products have moved online. This year was no exception, as crossing the border with China is still fraught with a number of difficulties and inconveniences.

Nevertheless, the exhibition is still one of the largest in China, the leading economy in the world, ahead of the United States. This year, 66 countries, including Russia and India, and three international organizations will present their expositions at the National Exhibition and Congress Center.

According to this indicator, as the deputy head of the organizing committee of the event Sun Chenghai said earlier, this year’s exhibition will surpass last year’s. Eight countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Iceland, Iraq, the Comoros, Mauritania, Mozambique and Nicaragua, will participate for the first time.

The organizers have not yet published data on the total number of companies at the Expo. It is only known that at the current exhibition to 284 increased the number of present companies that are included in the list of 500 largest in the world.

The IMF attends the Exhibition

The IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva attended the opening ceremony. She said that “trade has been an engine of shared growth for Asia and the world” and “We must safeguard and promote trade openness—both at home and by cooperating to build a stronger global trading system centered on the World Trade Organization.”

Kristalina Georgieva added that the IMF latest economic outlook for the region, released last week, includes a scenario that illustrates the potential costs : “If the world—and our trade—were to divide into two blocs, we estimate permanent annual losses of 1.5 percent of GDP globally, with losses over 3 percent of GDP in Asia and Pacific countries, reflecting the key role trade plays in the region.”

The IMF Managing Director then called China to greater openess of its domestic market to foreign investors and trade companies : “For China, there is room to further open up domestic markets, deepen reforms of state-owned enterprises, ensure competitive neutrality with private firms, and further strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights.”

Kristalina Georgieva concluded by calling for reforms of the WTO, as the organization is criticized by countries like China and Russia : “China also has a key leadership role in the WTO. Together with other major economies, China can help strengthen the multilateral system.”

Investments in China are soaring

Investments in the Chinese mainland expanded nearly 19 percent year on year to some $155 billion in 2022’s first three quarters, according to China Global Television Network.

In 2022, the Chinese economic recovery is significant. China’s GDP increased by 3.9% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2022, compared to 0.4% in the second quarter, the Chinese Bureau of Statistics announced on October 28, 2022. Chinese GDP posted a rebound beyond expectations of 3.4% for the 3rd quarter.

Products, as well as various services at the China International Import Expoare traditionally presented in six main sections. These include food and agricultural products, automobiles, smart industry and information technology, consumer goods, medical equipment and health products, trade and services. Despite all the Covid-related restrictions, the organizers claim that they managed to increase the total exposure area compared to the import Expo 2021, when this figure was 366 thousand square meters. The exact corresponding indicator for the current exhibition is not called.

Russia takes part in the event

Russian companies traditionally take part in the China International Import Expo, but since 2020, when the borders were closed due to the introduction of anti-Covid restrictions, the number of companies that were physically able to attend the exhibition has significantly decreased. Nevertheless, Russian business continues to attend this international event, which is one of the main platforms for attracting new imported goods and services to the Chinese market.

This year, with the support of the Russian Export Center, 29 Russian companies are taking part in the exhibition. Sections such as food and agricultural products, consumer goods, medical equipment and health products, as well as trade in services are presented. In particular, Vkusvil, Baltika, Dmitrovsky Dairy Plant, Siberian Health, Evalar, Transcontainer and a number of other companies will demonstrate their products and services in the relevant sections. Another 11 Russian companies will be represented in the digital online pavilion of the exhibition.

Read also : Inflation in China accelerated to 2.7% in July

November 7, it is planned to hold a presentation of the industrial potential of the Russian Federation, and on November 8, a business mission of Russian food producers for the Chinese business community will take place.

Strict sanitary control measures

The anti-epidemic measures taken at the exhibition are fully consistent with the “zero tolerance” policy of the Chinese authorities to COVID-19. All foreign participants are required to spend one week in quarantine in designated areas after crossing the border, and then stay in self-isolation for another three days with daily PCR tests.

To enter the territory of the exhibition complex, the last test for all participants must be done no more than 24 hours in advance. The organizers have also so far maintained the requirement of a full course of vaccination for everyone who enters the pavilions of the Expo.

Read also : China increased Russian gold imports in July

The CIIE is part of a large-scale program of the Chinese government, which has embarked on a course to transform the current economic model of the country’s development. Along the way, Beijing is trying to shift the focus from the export-oriented model to a more balanced practice of conducting international trade, which implies greater openness of China and an increase in import volumes.

China’s plans to hold an exhibition of imported goods were announced in May 2017 by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Belt and Road Summit in Beijing. The first of them took place in November 2018 in Shanghai. The Chinese government attaches great importance to this event, which is designed to demonstrate the country’s readiness to continue its commitment to further promoting trade and business openness to the outside world.

Read also : China lowers its stake in the U.S. Bonds

In 2021, 2,900 companies from 127 countries took part in the fourth CIIE. The event was attended by more than 480 thousand people. Following the results of the 2021 edition, deals worth $ 70.72 billion were concluded. In 2020, the volume of transactions was higher – $ 72.6 billion. According to official data, the total volume of transactions concluded at the previous four exhibitions reached $ 270 billion. 

The current year has been marked by renewed geopolitical tension between China and the United States, on the basis of confrontation over the status of the island of Taiwan and Beijing’s support for the policy of Russia in Ukraine. The question of human rights in China is a recurring subject of contention between the Asian giant and the United States. Nevertheless, China’s economic and technological strength have so far allowed it to overlook Western remarks. Beijing and Moscow no longer hide their joint work to create a common reserve currency for the BRICS member countries.

The current year has been marked by renewed geopolitical tension between China and the United States, on the basis of confrontation over the status of the island of Taiwan and Beijing’s support for the policy of Russia in Ukraine. The question of human rights in China is a recurring subject of contention between the Asian giant and the United States. Nevertheless, China’s economic and technological strength have so far allowed it to overlook Western remarks. Beijing and Moscow no longer hide their joint work to create a common reserve currency for the BRICS member countries.

Over the past few years, China has reduced the share of US Treasury Bonds in its foreign currency reserves. The yuan’s position has also improved internationally, as China’s central bank has been buying hundreds of tons of gold every year since at least 2013. In addition, the tremors in the Chinese real estate market since 2021 seem so far contained and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, which has instructed Chinese banks to support the market and defend the national currency.

China appears today as a technological and digital leader. However, its demographic fragility and the share of private debt in its national economy could slow down its annual economic growth rate.

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© Copyright 2022 – Swann Collins, investor, writer and consultant in international affairs.