Experts laud import expo’s role in opening-up
The upcoming China International Import Expo in November has a major significance for the country’s new round of opening-up measures and will enhance Shanghai’s position as an emerging global city, according to experts.
“The import expo is a concrete action that shows how China has been actively opening its market to the world. It is a global public good provided by China to promote the development of the world economy in an open, inclusive, win-win and balanced fashion,” said Wang Yumei, deputy Party chief of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), at an academic conference at the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden, the Netherlands, on Sept 19.
The half-day research presentation focused on the effect of the CIIE and China’s new round of opening-up. Scholars from SASS gave presentations on three perspectives, namely international trade, open innovation and Shanghai’s role.
Last year, around 3,600 overseas companies from around the world participated in the inaugural expo, with deals for intended one-year purchases of goods and services reaching a total of $57.8 billion.
Ke Jing, an assistant researcher at the Institute of International Relations of SASS, said the expo has provided a showcase for overseas products and services.
It has also improved the global trade network, given the fact that China’s annual import has risen from 18.7 billion yuan ($10.88 billion) in 1978 to more than 14.09 trillion yuan in 2018, making the country the second largest importer in the world.
“The further opening-up of its market to foreign goods shows China’s efforts and determination to stabilize the global trade order amid the rising protectionism seen in some major economies such as the United States,” said Ke.
The imbalance in global trade is another problem that China has tried to address through the restructuring of its economic growth model by reducing its dependency on export and investment, she added.
“Boosting the consumption of China’s domestic market and opening it to foreign countries will make the global trade more balanced,” Ke said. “Hosting the import expo is among the new round of China’s opening-up policies.”
Sun Lixing, a professor at the Institute of World Economy at SASS, agreed with Ke, noting that while trade frictions between China and the US have disrupted global economic growth, deepening the cooperation between China and Europe is an effective way to maintain the growth momentum.
Sun said the import expo will promote friendship and understanding between the people of different countries. “The expo enlarges China’s ‘circle of friends’ and serves as a new gateway for foreign companies to access the Chinese market,” he said.
Su Ning, associate researcher at the Institute of World Economy of SASS, noted in his research on the effect of the import expo that it is more than just a trade fair, adding that hosting the event has enhanced Shanghai’s role as an emerging global city through more dynamic regional coordination and greater international cooperation. According to American sociologist Saskia Sassen, a “global city” serves as a primary node in the global economic network.
“The participants of the CIIE, many of whom are from countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, bring diverse goods, innovations, people and cultures to the city,” Su said. “This has enhanced Shanghai’s role as a new global city.”
The expo has also attracted many businesses from neighboring cities in the Yangtze River Delta to Shanghai, Su added.
“The further opening-up of its market to foreign goods shows China’s efforts and determination to stabilize the global trade order amid the rising protectionism seen in some major economies such as the United States.” KE JING
Assistant researcher, Institute of International Relations, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences