Enhancedcooperationurgedinpreparationsforalargerexpothisyearwithmoreinnovations
OfficialsgiveupdateonCIIE
ByXINGYIinShanghai
[email protected]
W
ith less than 100
days to go before
the secondChi-
na International
ImportExpo, offi-
cials have provided an update as to
whatvisitorscanexpectthisyear.
Minister ofCommerce Zhong
Shan said during the expo prepara-
tionmeetinginShanghaionJuly27
that departments should enhance
cooperation to make the expo’s sec-
ondeditionevenlargerinscale,bet-
ter in quality, and of a higher level
withmoreinnovationsandachieve-
ments.
Li Qiang, Party chief of Shanghai,
saidthecitywillaccelerateupgrading
oftheexpovenueanditssurrounding
auxiliary facilities, further improve
the city’s business environment and
designinnovativepoliciestofacilitate
tradefortheparticipatingcompanies.
According toFang Hui, general
manager of the operation depart-
ment for the venue, upgrade mea-
sures include the addition of more
air purifiers in restrooms, smoking
areas, and service points for battery
charging, printing, medical assis-
tanceandcurrencyexchange.
Aswellasnewsectionsforelderly
care, virtual reality and augmented
reality products, the expo will also
feature an outdoor area for visitors
to experience autonomous driving
andwintersports,saiddeputydirec-
toroftheCIIEbureauSunChenghai.
“The number of exhibition areas,
new product releases andFortune
500companiesandindustry-leading
companies for the second edition
haveallexceededthoseoflastyear’s
expo,”Sunsaid.
TheGeneralAdministration of
Customs has established a special
customs office at the expo venue
to oversee the clearance of foreign
exhibits and provide one-stop ser-
vicesforparticipatingcompanies.
Meanwhile, the Ministry ofAgri-
culture and RuralAffairs has del-
egated the power for approving the
import and export of endangered
aquatic plants and animals to the
Shanghaimunicipality.Also,theShanghaiIntellectual
PropertyAdministration has priori-
tized patent applications for prod-
ucts slated to be showcased during
theexpo.
Toensuretheeventhassufficient
manpower, the ShanghaiCommit-
tee ofChineseCommunist Youth
League has recruited 60 long-term
expo volunteers and will begin to
recruitanother5,000short-termvol-
unteersfromuniversitiesstartingin
September.
To promote the event, the expo
bureau has held several overseasroadshows and organized pre-expo
matchmakingsessionsforregistered
buyersandsellersforpotentialbusi-
ness.
During a matchmaking session
held on July 26, many participants
expressed keen anticipation of this
year’sCIIE,notinghowtheinaugural
eventwasaboonfortheirbusiness.
“TheCIIEis a very good platform
for us to find customers, suppliers
and do business inChina. This year,
wewillincreaseourboothareaby50
percentanddoubletheproductsdis-
played, such as coffee capsules andnew types of wines and meat from
Germany,”saidClaudeSarrailh,pres-
identoffoodspecialistMetroChina.
YuZhiqiong,corporatecommuni-
cations manager of LesaffreChina,
said the yeast and bread-making
productscompanywasquicktosign
upfortheexpothisyear,aslastyear’s
eventprovedvitalinhelpingexpand
its business network. Yu added that
during the expo the company will
hosttheAsiafinalofitsLouisLesaf-
freCupbakerycompetition.
MajoragriculturecompanyCargill
Chinapledgedtouptheantewithits
exhibitionofferingsthisyear.
“At last year’s expo, we managed
to sign a large number of deals and
speak with many government offi-
cials and business partners. We will
double our booth size and launch
many new products at this year’s
event. Our globalCEO will also be
attending,” said Michael Miao, cor-
porate communications director of
CargillChina.
ETing, public affairs director for
candy giant MarsChina, said the
companywillbeleveragingtechnol-
ogy to draw more consumers to its
booths this year.F example, cus-or
tomers will be able to smell candies
without opening the package.Also,
anAI program will recommend
products to customers — based on
thecustomer’sappearance.
More than 3,000 foreign compa-
nies from 150 countries and regions
have confirmed their attendance at
thisyear’sexpo,whichwillkickoffat
theNationalExhibitionandConven-
tionCenter in Shanghai on Nov 5.
Registrationforprofessionalvisitors
hasbeenopensinceJuly1.Platformsprovepopularwithtotalimportvaluereaching$10basofmid-July
BySHIJINGinShanghai
[email protected]
Atotal of 558 companies that
participatedinthefirstChinaInter-
national ImportExpohavejoined
the four year-round demonstration
and trading platforms over the past
fewmonths,accordingtoShangYu-
ying,deputysecretary-generalofthe
Shanghaimunicipalgovernment.
As of July 15, more than 13,609
products were demonstrated and
sold at the platforms, with the total
import value reaching 75.2 billion
yuan($10.9billion).
Thefourplatformsweresetuplast
year to facilitate sales of imported
goods from countries and regions
involvedintheBeltandRoadInitia-
tive, consumer goods, agricultural
products and cross-border e-com-
merce, said Tan Wei, director of the
commerce commission of Qingpu
districtinShanghai.
GreenlandGlobalCommodity
TradingHubisoneofthesefourplat-
formshelpingglobalconsumergoods
enter theChinese market. Located
opposite the NationalExhibition
andConventionCenter (Shanghai)
— the venue for theCIIE— the hub
startedoperationsinmid-November
last year. The 110,000-square-meter
areaiscurrentlyhometomorethan
120 companies from 45 countries
and regions that are selling more
than 22,000 products.Another 18
booths will be set up for countries
includingFrance,BelarusandSouthAfricalaterthisyear.
Amongentitiesatthishubarethe
China-Czech-Slovak promotional
center. The center’s deputy director,
XieYan,saidithadoptedforasmall
display area within theCzech pavil-
ion during last year’sCIIEbecause
it was just ‘testing the waters’. How-
ever,theoverwhelmingreceptionto
itsproductslikeMarlenkacakesand
Podebradycrystalpromptedittoset
up shop within the trading hub to
meetthedemand.
“We have set up operations in the
Greenland hub to extend the influ-
ence of theCIIEand allowChinese
clients,especially those who did not
attend the first show, to have some
understandingofouriconicproducts
demonstratedattheCIIE,”saidXie.ToprepareforthesecondCIIE,Xie
said the center will have a trial sale
ofCzech products at theGreenland
hub before the expo. He added that
the best-selling products will have
booths at this year’s show to raise
morebrandawarenessandincrease
their chances of getting distributed
insecond-tiercities.
Anotherorganizationthathasset-
tled at the hub is the NorthEurope
Center. Per Linden, the head of the
center,saiditwillbemovingitsoper-
ations to a large space within the
hub to accommodate more Nordic
lifestyleproducts.
“I’ve often been questioned by
Swedish business partners as to the
potential of theChinese market.
WhatIhavetoldthemfromtimetotime is that they should come here
to seize the opportunities.For us,
we have made full preparations for
thesecondCIIEtobringmoreSwed-
ish brands toChinese consumers,”
Lindensaid.
Xue Yingjie, general manager of
theGreenlandhub,notedthatmany
companies which took part in the
firstCIIE, in November 2018, have
expressedtheirwillingnesstohavea
platformtodemonstratetheirprod-
uctsthroughouttheyearinChina.
“Oneofthepurposesofsettingup
thishubistomakethemostpopular
exhibits at last year’s show available
tomoreChineseconsumers.Butthe
ultimate goal is to make this hub a
testing zone for opening-up policies
andsystematicinnovation,”Xuesaid.Warmreceptionforyear-roundtradinghubs
ThesecondChinaInternationalImportExpo willbeheldinShanghaiinNovember.To promotethe
event,overseasroadshowsandpre-expo matchmaking sessions for registeredbuyersandsellers have
beentaking place.XINGYI/CHINADAILY26 August 2-8, 2019 CHINA DAILY GLOBAL WEEKLY