The China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world's first national-level exposition dedicated to imports and an event proposed by President Xi Jinping, has become a key platform showcasing China's commitment to high-level opening-up, with participants worldwide lauding the opportunities it offers.
President Xi first announced China would hold the CIIE starting in 2018 in a speech in the previous year, with the establishment of the expo signaling a new round of high-level opening-up, and serving as an important measure to actively open the Chinese market to the world.
This year, the 7th CIIE is taking place in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10. It has attracted participants from more than 150 countries, regions and international organizations, achieving a new record with 297 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders in attendance.
Seven years on, the annual expo has established itself as a crucial platform with global influence, offering a window into how China has grown by embracing the world, and how the world has benefited from China's opening-up.
"Having myself worked in Shanghai, I know personally just how important it is for Shanghai to be open and for China to keep the city open. As a Chinese saying goes, 'All flowers in full blossom make a beautiful spring'. The CIIE is an event hosted by China with the support of the WTO and other international organizations as well as a large number of participating countries. It is not China's solo show, but rather a chorus involving countries from around the world," said Xi when delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 1st CIIE in 2018.
China is now fostering a new development paradigm, with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other. However, that does not mean that China envisions a development loop behind closed doors. Rather, it emphasizes more open domestic and international circulations.
In his keynote speech delivered via video at the 3rd CIIE in 2020, Xi stated that such paradigm will not only meet China's own development needs but also for the greater benefit of people in all countries.
"China will begin a new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country. It will mark a new stage for China's development. Answering to the changing circumstances and new requirements, we have set out to foster a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other," said Xi in his speech to the 3rd CIIE.
"What does the new development paradigm mean? It means that China will make even greater contributions to the world, and China's development will be increasingly integrated with that of the world," said Zhang Ji, deputy dean of Fudan University's School of International Relations and Public Affairs.
The CIIE is seen as a boost to the development paradigm, as it has become a major platform for international procurement, investment promotion, and cultural exchange, yielding significant outcomes.
In his address to the third CIIE, Xi also pledged that China would continue to leverage the CIIE and other opening-up platforms to support companies from around the world in exploring business opportunities in China, which boasts a population of 1.4 billion.
"The CIIE serves as a crucial link between domestic and international circulations. Hosting the expo itself is a key measure in China's high-level opening-up," said Zhang.
For global investors, the expo has turned out to be a gateway to China's vast market. By constantly unleashing the dividends of opening-up, the CIIE is committed to sharing China's new development opportunities with the world – and this explains its popularity.
"Thank you for giving us really great opportunities, thank you very much," said a South Korean exhibitor.
"The show itself is very famous not only here in China but all over the world. So it's been great," said a Brazilian exhibitor.
"It's a very exciting market, big potential. But it's different than other markets in the world," said an Israeli exhibitor.
Opening-up and reform are inseparable and have developed alongside each other.
Addressing the 2nd CIIE in 2019, Xi said China will adhere to its fundamental state policy of opening-up and stay committed to opening-up to promote reform, development and innovation.
In July of this year, the third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held. According to the meeting, China's reform has entered a "deep-water zone," where many changes must be carried out through opening-up.
"The third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee stated that China's reform has entered a 'deep-water zone,' where many reforms must be carried out through opening-up, aligning with global standards, and integrating China's development with global progress. This approach will help address many of the challenges in domestic reform. An important aspect of high-level opening-up is institutional reform. In the past, opening-up primarily focused on the free flow of goods and trade. Today, high-level opening-up focuses more on institutional reforms," said Zhang.
In recent years, China's door is opening even wider to foreign visitors and businesses.
On top of the national level import-themed expo, China has recently unveiled a series of initiatives, including broadened visa-free policies and eased investment restrictions, to open its doors even wider to foreign visitors, investors and business doers.
"The 144-hour transit visa exemption policy, which has been very popular recently, has been expanded to 37 ports and 54 countries," said Liu Haitao, deputy director of the National Immigration Administration at a press conference in August.
"To further enhance people-to-people exchanges, China has decided to extend its visa-free policy to more countries," said Lin Jian, Foreign Ministry spokesman at a recent press briefing.
Many attendees at the 7th CIIE believe that China's high-level opening-up has given a boost to global trade and investment, expressing strong interest in entering the Chinese market
"President Xi consistently for many years has said he wants to make sure that China continues to open up, which gives us an opportunity to not only Rwanda and African countries, but the rest of the world," said James Kimony, Rwanda's Ambassador to China.
"Coming to this, a great opportunity that China is opening for us," said exhibitor from Lebanon at the ongoing 7th CIIE.
"We are really interesting to enter China market," said another Lebanese exhibitor.
High-level opening-up not only fosters new business opportunities but also plays a crucial role in advancing reforms in China by introducing external competition.
"The third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee said that opening up is a distinctive feature of China's modernization. It introduces external competition, allowing us to better assess our own development and understand the gap between our development and that of the world. Many of our reforms are the results of opening-up. Therefore, the significance of opening-up for China's economic growth and Chinese-style modernization is self-evident," said Zhan Yubo, director of the Institute of Economics at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
Opening-up also stands as a driving force of human civilizations and a fundamental way to global prosperity and development.
"Opening-up is a key driving force behind the progress of human civilizations and an intrinsic path toward global prosperity and development. The path is unfolding before us, and a brighter future beckons beyond," said Xi in his address to the fifth CIIE in 2022.
CIIE becomes key platform showcasing China's commitment to high-level opening-up
