All Eyes Glued on China’s Open Market
The annual CIIE, seen as a key symbol of China’s openness, is deemed a very important platform by many companies across the globe to showcase their products and services and find business opportunities.
FROM November 5 to 10, the highly anticipated third China International Import Expo (CIIE) was held in Shanghai as scheduled, with a total exhibition area of nearly 360,000 square meters, some 30,000 square meters larger than last year. For over 2,600 global exhibitors, this year’s event not only provides the world with an opportunity to tap into China’s vigorous market, but also promises to inject fresh impetus into a global economy crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual CIIE, seen as a key symbol of China’s openness, is also a platform that has been deemed “terrific” and “important” by foreign senior executives.
An Engine to Boost Economic Recovery
“Faced with the challenges posed by the COVID19 pandemic, this year’s CIIE being held on schedule is an exciting feat in itself,” said Alain Crozier, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft Greater China Region, in an interview with China Today.
This is the third consecutive year for Microsoft to attend the CIIE. As a foreign company that has operated in China for nearly 30 years, Microsoft has witnessed first-hand China’s reform and openingup, innovation, and development. Crozier indicated that China has been steadfastly expanding all-round opening-up, exploring more efficient ways to con
nect domestic and foreign markets, and sharing factors of production and resources with the world. The Chinese market is turning into a market that is open to, shared by, and accessible to all. By doing this, he believes more positive energy will be able to be brought to the global community.
“As Chinese President Xi Jinping stated in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the CIIE, the Chinese people have exerted extraordinary efforts and made major strategic gains in controlling the coronavirus. The Chinese economy is steadily picking up, as evidenced by the positive overall growth in the first three quarters. This is a major contribution to economic recovery in the world,” Crozier quoted a few lines from Xi’s remarks which impressed him a lot.
According to the Global Investment Trends Monitor released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on October 27, the flow of global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell 49 percent during the first half of 2020 compared to 2019, due to the economic fallout from COVID19. Among the various countries, the United States, Singapore, and India saw a decline in FDI by 61 percent, 28 percent, and 33 percent respectively, while China only decreased by four percent during the first half of the year. Due to China’s various policies and measures including those about stabilizing foreign investment, China’s actual use of foreign capital was US $103.26 billion from January to September, a yearon-year increase of 2.5 percent, showing a growth momentum against the trend.
On November 5, the Statistical Bulletin of Foreign Direct Investment in China 2020 was released by China’s Ministry of Commerce at the third CIIE. According to the document, the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises in China during 2019 reached 41,000, and the actual use of foreign capital was US $141.23 billion, a record high, with a year-on-year increase of 2.1 percent, ranking it second in scale across the globe. The actual use of foreign capital in China’s primary, secondary, and tertiary industries accounted for 0.3 percent, 29.9 percent, and 69.8 percent respectively, with that in the tertiary industry increased 5.2 percentage points from the previous year. While in scientific research and technical services, the actual use of foreign capital in information transmission, and software and information technology services increased by 63.9 percent and 25.9 percent respectively over the previous year.
Regarding the uniqueness of CIIE, Crozier pointed out, “It can bring together well-known companies from all over the world, covering high-end application scenarios in all walks of life, and is a concentrated expression of global advanced productivity and technological achievements.”
As for what his company itself brought to the third CIIE, he said, “We’re showcasing some advanced digital technologies together with our Chinese partners that include several representative scenarios: smart health care, smart agriculture, smart manufacturing, smart retail, and smart education.”
Sharing the Growth Dividend with the World
“CIIE is a symbol of China’s determination to continuously open up and firmly support trade liberalization and economic globalization,” Maria Sferruzza, senior vice president of Baker Hughes in Asia Pacific, told China Today during an online interview. “Baker Hughes plans to strengthen partnerships with Chinese energy and industrial customers and position itself as a leading energy technology company by leveraging CIIE as one of its key enablers,” she added.
Serving as the company’s strategic development leader, Sferruzza described their company’s future development plans as being compatible with the
Chinese market. She further pointed out, “No matter what type of energy industry, all are actually facing the problem of energy transition. And vigorous investment in the development of energy transition technology serves as the third largest global strategy of our company. This involves four specific areas: geothermal, hydrogen energy, carbon capture and utilization, and energy storage.”
Sferruzza also spoke highly of the event, when she said, “We’re excited to better support China’s national energy security agenda through our century-long continuous innovation and revolutionary inventions, collaborating with local industry champions to realize China’s de-carbonization ambitions.” Then, she especially pointed out, “When Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China aims to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, Baker Hughes decided that it would be deeply involved in this process, not only promoting our unique technologies, but also by providing implementation solutions.”
Companies that actively participate in the research and development of advanced technology and realworld applications that are adaptable to China’s economic and social development also include Johnson & Johnson. This year marks the 35th anniversary of Johnson & Johnson’s entry into China, and it has participated in each CIIE since it began. As one of the largest exhibitors in the medical equipment & healthcare products section, Johnson & Johnson has showcased its cutting-edge products and technology, including three global product debuts, one Asian debut, and around 50 China debuts, spanning all of its business sectors. The company has also joined the public health and epidemic prevention section to make relentless efforts and remarkable contributions to the fight against COVID-19 and addressing major global public health challenges.
Will Song, global senior vice president and China chairman of Johnson & Johnson, said, “The CIIE is a key portal for domestic and international economic dual circulation. It also serves as a major platform for economic and trade cooperation with mutual
The CIIE is a key portal for domestic and international economic dual circulation. It also serves as a major platform for economic and trade cooperation with mutual benefits.
benefits. By taking part in the CIIE, we look forward to seizing new opportunities on the Chinese market. We will also leverage our expertise to introduce new technology and products to meet the needs of Chinese patients and consumers and support Healthy China.”
“We are here because of the Chinese aspiration toward a better life!” said Mark Edwards, managing director of Diageo China, the world’s largest international spirits company. Edwards has been working and living in China for more than 10 years. According to him, with the further opening-up of the Chinese market, its consumers have more demands for fresh products and brand-new categories, and are more willing to try high-quality products from abroad. This in the end reflects the upgrading of Chinese consumption and the trend towards high-end consumer products.
Based on years of experience in the Chinese whisky market, Diageo has innovatively launched whisky products that are in line with the taste preferences of Chinese consumers. At the U.K.’S Food is GREAT pavilion during the CIIE, Edwards introduced visitors to each product on exhibit, and explained, “When we look at the consumer trends and demographic trends, we find that people’s interest in international spirits is growing significantly. I think it reflects the consumers’ pursuit of a better, high-quality life. And we see this growth trend in many categories, not only in Scotch whisky, but also the craft beer. To this end, Diageo also has participation in the Chinese market, and we will maintain our commitment to this market through more activities, investments, and innovations.”
Vast Market Stimulates Innovation
The significance of this year’s CIIE lies in that it was held when the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging across the world, unilateralism and trade protectionism are on the rise, and the global economy continues to take a downward turn due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. At home, it is the closing year of China’s 13th Five-year Plan (2016-2020), which means the next Five-year Plan will be soon revealed to the world. Just before the CIIE, the fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee was convened, at which it was pointed out that during the 13th Five-year Plan period, comprehensive reforms were deepened and China’s opening-up to the outside
world continued to expand. The scale of foreign investment in China has shown a steady growth, with a significantly increased proportion in the global direct investment, and the structure of foreign investment has been further optimized (service industry attracted US $395.6 billion in foreign investment, an average annual growth of 2.2 percent). The hi-tech industry attracted US $129 billion in foreign investment, an average annual increase of 23.9 percent. Among those investments, the hi-tech service industry had an average annual growth of 37.3 percent, and foreign capital has made outstanding contributions to China’s economic and social development.
During the fifth plenary session of the 19th
CPC Central Committee, the 14th Five-year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-range Objectives Through the Year 2035 was put forward, pointing out that during the 14th Five-year Plan period (2021-2025), the Chinese market will be turning into a market that is open to the world, shared by all, and accessible to all. China will establish a foreign investment management system compatible with the new foreign investment law; strengthen the construction of open platforms such as the pilot free trade zones, free trade ports; and support Beijing to build a comprehensive demonstration zone for the expansion and opening of the service trade industry so as to promote the supply-side reform and the upgrading of industrial structure. What’s more, China will better safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of foreign businessmen and promote the liberalization and facilitation of global trade and investment. Through creating a more open and convenient business environment, China continues to show its determination to further opening up with more policies introduced that can bring real benefits to foreign companies.
Talking about China’s new development paradigm under which the domestic market is taken as the mainstay and mutual benefits are shared between domestic and international markets, Crozier said that China’s vast domestic market will stimulate constant potential for innovation. He further explained that from the perspective of the technology industry, there are huge opportunities in the process of technological innovation and in accelerating transformation and development in all walks of life in China – from the rise of the blended office model during and after the pandemic to the new trend of online-and-offline integration of products and business processes and across-the-board digital development. “Microsoft fully supports nearly 17,000 partners on the Chinese market to fully explore the huge potential in new technologies and applications such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and mixed reality, injecting long-lasting vitality to more companies’ digital transformation,” Crozier said.
“China will always be an important growth engine to Baker Hughes’ future development,” said Sferruzza. To this Crozier also agreed, “We believe that the CIIE represents China’s increasingly open business environment and increasingly powerful innovation potential. In the context of the continuous global fight against the pandemic this year, the holding of the CIIE as scheduled is of special significance. It presents more foreign-funded enterprises with investment and business opportunities in China.”
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