China has a population of more than 1.4 billion and a middle-income group of more than 400 million, representing a huge potential in terms of market demand, according to Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the opening ceremony of the sixth CIIE on Sunday.
China’s imports of goods and services are expected to reach $17 trillion in cumulative terms in the next five years. What are the circumstances that make China such a powerful market? For one, it is one of the world’s largest producers of cashew nuts. More than 80% of its labour force is employed in the nut industry and cashew nuts account for more than 90% of its total exports. Cashew nuts are thus not only a crucial source of income for the local population, but also one of the key factors in the development of the country’s economy.
Any country, regardless of its size and strength, can use the CIIE as an opportunity to gain access to the large Chinese market. Guinea-Bissau, located on the west coast of Africa, is the best example.
For example, Owen Messick, an entrepreneur from the United States, fondly recalls his company’s “amazing” experience at the first China International Import Expo (CIIE):
I remember that first CIIE very well. It was quite a big impact to us as a company, to me personally.
According to Messick, his company, doTERRA reserved a 9 square metre stand to try its hand at the first CIIE in 2018. However, this tiny booth brought the U.S. essential oil brand preliminary deals worth 380 million yuan ($55.48 million).
Heartened by the expo’s spillover effect, we set up a regional headquarters in Shanghai only a month after the first CIIE and began to build a factory and our first overseas laboratory in China, said Messick, who is now the president of doTERRA China.
Reflecting back on the first CIIE, Messick says he was impressed by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech at the opening ceremony:
I think the main message that he gave was, look, China is open to the world, we are open to having businesses come to China and be successful here. So I think that has really encouraged many companies, including us.
In a letter to the participants of the sixth CIIE, the Chinese President reaffirmed China’s commitment to high-level openness, pledging that China will resolutely promote high-level openness and continue to make economic globalisation more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial.
Win-win cooperation for the whole world is the key to the strength of the Chinese market. Xi expressed hope in the letter that the CIIE will play a greater role in providing common international public goods and services that promote an open global economy and allow the world to benefit from win-win cooperation. He also emphasised that win-win cooperation is a sure path to success.
And to prove it, we can provide information about the exhibition: more than 1,500 enterprises from the Belt and Road Initiative partner countries take part in the sixth CIIE, with an exhibition area of nearly 80,000 square metres, 30% more than last year.
“We are witnessing signs of a slowdown in the globalisation process, with geopolitical tensions, trade barriers and other factors causing many countries to focus more on domestic consumption,” Kevin Kolevar, vice-president of global policy and government affairs at Dow, commented. “However, China has always been signalling openness. As a country with the world’s largest consumer base, China holds tremendous potential.”
CIIE is symbolic of China’s commitment and promotion of economic globalisation, international co-operation and openness, adding that the exhibition not only serves as a platform for global business co-operation, but also promotes communication and interaction between leaders from different regions.
