Nation vows to create new opportunities for world with its own development as 5th CIIE opens
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday delivered at the 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world’s biggest import fair, a keynote speech that underlined China’s unswerving commitment to further opening up its market and to creating new opportunities for the world with its own development, as the world faces a lingering COVID-19 pandemic, energy crisis, and growing trend of anti-globalization and trade protectionism.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the 5th CIIE via video on Friday, Xi pledged that China will firmly safeguard true multilateralism, share market opportunities with the rest of the world, promote high-standard opening-up and uphold the common interests of the world.
The 2022 CIIE is the first major international expo held in China after the successful conclusion of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and comes on the heels of a flurry of diplomatic activities this week that see leaders of Vietnam, Pakistan, Tanzania and Germany visiting Beijing.
The major trade fair, with its fifth edition boasting more participating countries, more diverse exhibits and more premium products, also came as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) mega free trade deal began to generate concrete benefits to signatory countries with its trade facilitation measures.
Xi said that the CIIE has become a showcase of China’s new development paradigm, a platform for high-standard opening-up, and a public good for the whole world.
Xi’s speech on Friday, which describes opening-up as the key driving force of human civilization, sends a clear message of China’s determination to further open to the outside world and also share its development opportunities with the rest of the world, experts noted.
The keynote speech was concise but highly summarized the spirit of opening-up in the report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, Li Yong, senior fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Friday.
Sharing development opportu▶ nities with developing countries
and seeking wider and higher standard trade liberalization via institutional opening-up carries special significance under the current global situation, Li said.
Five years after being launched, the CIIE has made new breakthroughs this year.
For the first time, the world’s top 15 drug makers gathered under the grand roof of the clover-shaped National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), as did the world’s top 10 medical equipment manufacturing companies, according to domestic broadcaster CGTN.
With the addition of Rio Tinto and BHP, the world’s top three miners have also gathered together at the CIIE for the first time.
With the RCEP deal beginning to exert its positive effects on regional trade, all RCEP members have companies hosting exhibits at the fair.
A total of 284 Fortune Global 500 firms and major industry players are set to join the business exhibition, up from last year’s 281.
The attendance by a record number of companies at the CIIE also offered a strong rebuttal to the hype of “China closing itself up” made by some Western media outlets and futile efforts by some Western politicians for instigating decoupling with China.
The US-China Business Council (USCBC), an advocacy organization representing more than 260 companies that do business in China, told the Global Times that US participation at the 5th CIIE is the same as last year – 200 companies including 32 USCBC members – despite geopolitical turmoil and the volatile COVID-19 situation.
New designated exhibition areas were set up for seeds and artificial intelligence, underlining China’s determination to improve its agricultural and high-tech sectors.
Wei Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchange and former vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce, said the 5th CIIE will bring confidence to the world’s farmers, fishers, miners, assembly line workers and multinational companies, as their businesses have been weighed down by global changes and turbulence.
“The 5th CIIE sends a signal to the world that the Chinese production and consumption market is rapidly warming up, thereby greatly boosting the confidence of the world’s business circle,” said Wei.
As China continues to grow, its appetite for agricultural goods, aquacultural goods, energy products and mineral goods continues to grow, and this will be a reassuring message to global companies at this hour of need, Wei said, describing China’s pouring of the whole country’s resources into one import trade fair as part of commitments in its efforts to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
On Friday, Chinese oil giant Sinopec signed energy purchase deals worth $40.1 billion and imports from the North American region jumped 86 percent from the last CIIE.
Given the broader participation this year, and the palpable sense of optimism by attendants, Wei predicted the volume of deals reached will be larger than at the 4th CIIE.