Bloomberg Businessweek Asia Edition - 05 August 2019

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Creating a Fair Field

It is summerin China,andXiamen,thefamed

coastalcityin southeastFujianProvincethat

historicallyplayeda keyrolein theChinese

exploringtradeopportunitiesabroad,hasits

dogdays’featuresonfulldisplay.It is hotand

humiddespitetheseabreeze,andlush,ripe

mangosdangletantalizinglyfrombenttree

branches.Thebikelanesaredeserted,except

fora streamof diehardafternoonrunners,

sinceXiamenis alsofamousforitsmarathons.

Anotherotherprominentfeatureis thebig

goldenkeyonHuandaoRoad,thesnakingring

roadthatencirclesXiamenIslandandprovides

dazzlingglimpsesof theseaandexquisite

scenicspots.Lookagain,andthekeyturnsout

to be an ingeniouscombinationof thefigures

9 and8. Proppedontwostonecolumns,

it is a giantversionof thelogoof theChina

InternationalFairforInvestmentandTrade

(CIFIT),anda reminderthattheannualevent—

whicheachyearstartsontheeighthdayof the

ninthmonth,Sept.8—isaroundthecorner.

Thekeyis emblematicof thefairopeningthe

doortoinvestorsaroundtheworld.

CIFITbeganin 1987asa localforeigninvest-

mentandtradefair.In 1997it becamea

nationalevent,andwastakenoverbythe

Ministryof ForeignTradeandEconomic

Cooperation,thepredecessorof theMinistry

of Commerce,andwasofficiallynamedCIFIT.

In thepastfiveyears,morethan100,

businesspeoplefromover 100 countrieshave

participatedinthefair.Withmorethan30 years

of history,CIFIThasbecomeanintegralpartof

China’sinvestmentlandscape.

“Asthelargestglobalinvestmentevent

recognizedbytheGlobalAssociationof the

ExhibitionIndustry,CIFITcanholditsown

withanyinternationalinvestmentfair,”Wang

Qiongwen,Directorof theXiamenMunicipal

Bureauof ConventionandExhibitionAffairs,

toldBeijingReview.

Goingglobal

Lastyear,PresidentXi Jinpingsenta letterto

theCIFITauthorities,acknowledgingthefair’s

contributiontoChina’sreformandopeningup,

andurgingit togoevenmoreglobal.

China’sopeningupwillonlybecomewider,

theletterstated.It expressedhopethatCIFIT,

focusingontwo-wayinvestmentpromotion,

“Globalinvestorswanttomakefulluse

of CIFIT,a sharedinvestmentpromotion

platform,toseekopportunitiestocooperate

withChinesecompaniesaswellasotherpar-

tiesandcountries,”Wangsaid.“CIFIThelps

countriesimproveandoptimizetheirbusiness

environment,includingsocialandeconomic

conditions,legislationandpreferentialpolicies,

sothattheycanattractmoreforeigncapital.”

Thisyearis especiallyimportantforCIFIT

becauseof thegrowinginterestamongglobal

investorsin theBeltandRoadInitiative.

Proposedby Chinain 2013,theoverlandSilk

RoadEconomicBeltandsea-based21st-

CenturyMaritimeSilkRoadinitiativeis building

andexpandingtheancientSilkRoadtrade

routesandconnectingAsiawithEurope,Africa

andbeyondwithimprovedinfrastructure,trade

linksandpeople-to-peopleexchanges.

AttheSecondBeltandRoadForumfor

InternationalCooperationin Beijingin April,Xi

wouldstarttocreatea moreinternational,

professionalandbrandedplatform,andplayan

activerolein pursuingopeninguponall fronts,

andbuildinganopenworldeconomy.

TheCIFITorganizingcommitteehasheld

roadshowsandotherpromotionsin 17coun-

triesin Africa,SouthAmerica,SoutheastAsia,

theMiddleEastandEuropein advanceof this

year’sfair.

“WearehappytoseeCIFITtransformedfroma

one-wayplatformtoattractforeigninvestment

toa bilateralinvestmentpromotionplatform,”

RafaelTorres,VicePresidentof thePeruvian-

ChineseChamberof Commerce,said.

“Thereis a hugeconsumptionmarketin

China,andCIFITprovidesparticipantswithan

opportunitytolearnthelocalinvestmenten-

vironment,policiesandprojectsin China,”He

Jun,Economic-CommercialCounselorat the

ChineseConsulateGeneralin SãoPaulo,Brazil,

said.

Xiamen’s signature annual trade and investment event gets new drive

By Zhang Shasha

(Compiled by Beijing Review; designed by Pamela Tobey)

2019 CIFIT at a Glance

Held at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center from

September 8 to 11, the trade and investment fair will highlight the following

initiatives:

Silk Road Maritime International Cooperation Forum: Discussing how to

construct the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road to facilitate trade with port cities.

International Investment Forum 2019—The Belt and Road Investment

Congress: Discussing construction of investment platforms and promoting

negotiations on investment protection agreements involving government

authorities, industrial players and business associations.

Digital Silk Road: A display of Belt and Road participants’ achievements in

5G applications, network equipment and information safety, and promoting

cooperation in the communications industry.

Green Silk Road: This will showcase Belt and Road participants’ achievements

in green industries including green industrial park construction, green finance

and green industrial development.

Silk Road Trade Pavilion: This will showcase agricultural products, combining

them with cross-border e-commerce to boost trade.