Cultural significance of the CIIE enhanced
Tenth anniversary of expo’s host venue comes in Shanghai as Party celebrates centennial journey
The cultural significance of the China International Import Expo has been highlighted in a variety of recent events celebrating two important occasions for the expo.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.
It also happens to be the 10th anniversary of the expo’s venue, the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).
On Saturday, the CIIE Bureau and the center held the opening ceremony for an art exhibition to review the Party’s history and achievements, as well as the center’s development trajectory.
Cultural genes on display
Running from July 3 to 6 at the NECC, the exhibition displays precious documents that highlight the Party’s 100-year journey to glory.
It also showcases the development process of China’s conference and exhibition industry during the past century.
Among the highlights are development and operation achievements of the center over the past decade and remarkable moments from the expo’s past three sessions.
Visitors to the event can also see art treasures and works exhibited at the past three expos as well as memorial gifts given by exhibitors and attendees.
Intangible cultural heritage items from Shanghai have also been displayed.
Shandong province and Suzhou in Jiangsu province, which exhibit items in the exhibition and convention center throughout the year, were invited to showcase their artisan works. During the opening ceremony, the CIIE Bureau also announced the founding of the Artwork Experts Committee for the expo.
The committee is joined by nine artists from fields including calligraphy, oil painting, wood carving, Suzhou embroidery and ceramics.
It will help with the expo’s organization of cultural and art events as well as the planning of its artwork display. At the ceremony, Tang Guifa, president of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) Co, said: “The event further enhances comprehensive influence of the CIIE as a cultural communication platform via methods including Red-theme performances, review of history, artists’ creation on the site and demonstration of intangible cultural heritage techniques.”
The Artwork Experts Committee aims to promote excellently traditional culture and art essence of the Chinese nation and actively expand the platform’s influence, Tang said.
Cultural communication is an important impetus for cultural development, insiders said, adding that it is also a key factor for cultural richness and prosperity across different ethnic groups.
The CIIE has worked as a cultural exchange and communication platform.
Through the two key parts that make the expo, the country exhibition along with the display of intangible cultural heritage and timehonored brands, the CIIE showcases the world’s diversified civilization and strives to promote the combination between economy and culture.
Driving exchanges
To fulfill its intended role, the expo has taken several initiatives. The fourth expo, to be held in November, will highlight the cultural sector in its Trade in Services area and the part will focus on overseas enterprises from the cultural relic and artwork industrial chain.
The sector will explore industrial upgrading while leading the integration trend of different sectors.
Intellectual property products licensed by museums, including the British Museum, will be displayed at the fourth expo.
A promotional conference for the section was held in late May. It gathered representatives from related guilds, auction companies, art galleries, insurance institutions and cultural and creative businesses.
Liu Fuxue, deputy director-general of the expo bureau, said the fourth expo will concentrate on demand, especially for the cultural industry which is a high value-added field. The goal is to help the expo realize more potential.
To support the expo, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and the State Taxation Administration issued a notification on tax preferential policies for imported exhibits sold during the expo on Oct 12, 2020.
The notification said each exhibitor that sells cultural relics during the expo can enjoy tax exemptions for no more than five pieces, which can include import tariffs and related value-added and consumption taxes.
Five ancient paintings drew wide attention at last year’s expo, held in November, and it was the first time that overseas cultural relics were displayed and transacted via the expo. The five exhibits were imported without taxes. The entire process, which involved sales, customs clearance and settlement, was finally completed on Dec 9.
The process demonstrated that customers who purchased cultural relic exhibits during the expo benefited from the tax preferential policies.
It also became an example that can be copied in the future for similar exhibits, involving declaration, examination and approval, exhibition, transaction and supervision service.
The move could help return Chinese cultural relics from overseas areas, inspire foreign cultural relic exhibitors to take part in the Chinese market and elevate the expo as a platform of cultural communication, opening-up and cooperation, insiders said.
More to expect at 4th edition
The third CIIE presented more than 100 intangible cultural heritage items from the world, as well as 81 time-honored Chinese brands.
It helped domestic and foreign businesspeople to learn more about local cultural features in China and also strengthen cooperation.
Foreign countries such as Russia, Italy, Portugal, Pakistan and Hungary uploaded photos and videos to the expo’s official website to showcase their natural and cultural environment and investment opportunities.
Intangible cultural heritage and time-honored brands made their debut in the expo during the 2019 edition, with an exhibition area of about 4,000 square meters.
The fourth expo will take place in less than 130 days. Looking ahead, with the Artwork Experts Committee and more endeavors in exhibition planning and organization, the cultural significance of the CIIE will be further expanded.