SHANGHAI, Nov 11 – Multiple records and trading vibrancy witnessed at the just-concluded 9th China International Import Expo in Shanghai mirror China’s continued efforts to advance innovation and stabilize global trade to offset various headwinds, said experts and company executives.
The value of intended deals reached at the expo rose 2.3 percent year-on-year to hit a record $85.45 billion, Xiao Lu, deputy Party secretary of the CIIE bureau, said at a news briefing on Tuesday, at the closing of the six-day event.
Up to 485 new products, technologies and service items made their debut at this year’s CIIE, up from 461 last year to reach a new high, Xiao said.
Michael Jiang, head of Clients and Markets at KPMG China, said that the size and capacity of this year’s CIIE has further demonstrated the demand potential and innovation vitality of the massive Chinese market, and companies discover more opportunities via the expo.
Chinese and foreign firms alike can expand their cooperation by efficiently matching their demand, deepening industry coordination, seeking technology innovation and upgrading, as well as rebuilding the supply chain via the annual event, Jiang said.
The expo reflects China’s leading position in platform-driven trade, which has fundamentally changed the trajectory of global trade, transitioning from the domination of supply to demand, said Chen Wenling, senior researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE).
“China is like a tailor, stitching together the fractures in global trade, one stitch at a time,” Chen said.
The CIIE has also facilitated the upgrading and transformation of the Chinese economy at the demand end via the expo’s high-quality, diversified and personalized product supply, added Chen.
Patrik Ziman, CFO of Boehringer Ingelheim for Greater China, said the German company has introduced about 50 innovative products into China by participating in eight editions of the expo. Presence at the CIIE has helped the company conduct deeper exchanges with local governments, medical service providers, research institutes and industry partners.
This has deepened the company’s better understanding of the Chinese market and its integration of the Chinese innovative ecosystem, Ziman said.
The expo itself has evolved from a trading platform to an international incubator, said Chen of the CCIEE. The demonstration of quantum technology, bio-manufacturing, hydrogen and nuclear fusion is in line with China’s development goals in future-oriented industries. Advanced technologies both from home and abroad are connected and applied in real-case scenarios more efficiently, she said.
The innovation incubation special section at this year’s CIIE saw unprecedented participation by displaying 633 startup projects from nearly 40 countries and regions, up 20 percent from last year.
“The CIIE has been repeating one truth: China is not only where global innovation can be applied, but also jointly created,” said Mark Wang, president and CEO of HSBC China.
