By He Yin, People’s Daily

The sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) recently came to a close. It saw tentative deals worth $78.41 billion signed, 6.7 percent higher from the previous expo.

The continuous success of the CIIE showcases China’s increasing appeal in promoting high-level opening up, injecting positive energy into global recovery.

During this year’s CIIE, various parties further demonstrated their confidence in China’s development prospects.

The number of Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders participating in the expo exceeded that in previous years, with a flurry of “global debuts,””Asia debuts,” and “China debuts.”

Foreign companies have shown their trust in the Chinese economy through concrete actions. According to data released by the China’sMinistry of Commerce, the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises in China increased by 32.4 percent year-on-year from January to September this year.

A survey conducted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade showed that nearly 70 percent of surveyed foreign companies are optimistic about the market prospects in China over the next five years.

The International Monetary Fund recently raised its growth forecast for China’s economy in 2023 to 5.4 percent, and major financial institutions such as JPMorgan, UBS Group, and Deutsche Bank have also lifted their predictions for China’s economic growth this year.

Business leaders from multinational companies who participated in the CIIE highly praised the resilience and potential of the Chinese economy, expressing their firm confidence in deepening their presence in the Chinese market.

One said that the Chinese supply chain system boasts huge resilience and potential, and the resilience and innovation of the Chinese economy mean an opportunity for foreign companies to satisfy the Chinese consumption market and the country’s economic demand.

This year’s CIIE has further demonstrated China’s determination to expand its opening-up. Before the first CIIE officially kicked off, Chinese President Xi Jinping remarked that the CIIE is hosted by China but for the world. He stressed that it is not an ordinary expo, but a major policy for China to push for a new round of high-level opening-up and a major measure for China to take the initiative to open its market to the world.

The CIIE fulfills its platform function for international procurement, investment promotion, people-to-people exchanges and open cooperation, creating market, investment and growth opportunities for participants.

Be it specialty from the least developed countries or high-tech products from developed countries, they are all getting on board the express train of the CIIE to accelerate their entry into the global trade market.

International observers have noted that an open China creates more cooperation opportunities for the world and China’s commitment to building an open economy injects tremendous certainty and momentum into the global economy.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of China’s first pilot free trade zone. Recently, the 22nd pilot free trade zone of the country, the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, was officially launched.

From the establishment of the Lingang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone to the implementation of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, and from the release of theMaster Plan for the Construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port and the ImplementationPlan for Further Reform and Opening-up in Shenzhen to the continuous improvement in business environment and intellectual property protection, a series of opening-up measures announced by China at the CIIE have been implemented, continuously creating new market opportunities for the world.

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanavisit noted that the CIIE has demonstrated China’s commitment to opening up and showcased the willingness of all parties to expand cooperation. It is creating new opportunities for global enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones, he added.

The global economy is experiencing a weak recovery, with sluggish global trade. Countries need to strengthen open cooperation and work together to address challenges.

China will continue to host major exhibitions such as the CIIE to provide platforms for open cooperation, help build more consensus on open cooperation and contribute to global recovery and development.

By He Yin, People’s Daily Online

On Nov. 8, Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the opening ceremony of the 2023 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit via video.

In his speech, he noted that the tide of information revolution is surging, and cyberspace embodies humanity’s boundless hope for a brighter future.

Profoundly grasping the development laws of human society in the information age, and analyzing the new situation and requirements facing global internet governance in a science-based manner, Xi emphasized the importance of prioritizing development, enhancing common security, and strengthening mutual learning between civilizations.

He called for the building of a more inclusive and prosperous cyberspace, a more peaceful and secure cyberspace, and a more equal and inclusive cyberspace.

What Xi said has provided important guidance for jointly advancing the building of a community with a shared future in cyberspace to a new stage.

The World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit is the largest and highest-level internet conference held in China, and also a highly anticipated global summit in the field of Internet.

In 2014, Xi put forward four principles and a five-point proposal for global internet development and governance, and called for building a community with a shared future in cyberspace at the opening ceremony of the second World Internet Conference. This vision has been widely recognized and responded by the international community.

With the theme of “Creating an Inclusive and Resilient Digital World Beneficial to All — Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace,” this year’s summit featured 20 sub-forums on digital cooperation under the Global Development Initiative, synergetic digital and green transformation, artificial intelligence (AI) and other topics.

More than 1,800 representatives from over 120 countries and regions participated in the conference both online and in-person, demonstrating a strong willingness to deepen communication and engage in practical cooperation.

Strengthening global governance of the internet aims to make the cyberspace more inclusive and prosperous. Only by deepening international exchanges and cooperation in the digital field and leveraging the internet and digital technologies to improve people’s livelihood and eradicate poverty can the cyberspace enhance the well-being of humanity.

In recent years, China has hosted a series of international exchange events such as the China International Digital Products Expo, the World Robot Conference, and World Artificial Intelligence Conference. Together with the World Internet Conference, these events have provided a collaborative platform for building a community with a shared future in cyberspace and have taken practical actions to promote human development in the digital world.

China, along with its partners, actively promotes the high-quality development of the Digital Silk Road, develops Silk Road e-commerce, and deepens international exchanges and cooperation in cyberspace, encouraging countries to ride the fast train of the internet and digital economy. This demonstrates China’s major-country responsibility in facing up to global challenges in digital development.

To strengthen global governance of the internet, it is crucial to ensure a more peaceful and secure cyberspace. The future of cyberspace should be jointly created by all countries, and the security of cyberspace should be collectively maintained. Only by respecting the sovereignty of each country in cyberspace, adhering to international rules governing cyberspace, and deepening practical cooperation in cybersecurity, can countries work together to address the challenges against cybersecurity.

China has released the International Strategy of Cooperation on Cyberspace and proposed the Global Initiative on Data Security, continuously contributing to the improvement of the global digital governance system.

In October this year, China put forward the Global AI Governance Initiative, presenting a comprehensive approach to AI governance in terms of development, security, and governance. It emphasizes a systematic approach that balances development and security, advocates a people-centered and benevolent AI consensus, and promotes the values of equality, mutual benefit, and respect for human rights. It has made a strong voice in leading global AI governance.

The key to strengthening global governance of the internet lies in making the online space more equal and inclusive. The vitality of the internet comes from connectivity, and its core lies in openness. The cyberspace should be a big where diverse voices can be heard, rather than a new battlefield full of digital barriers. Only by enhancing online communication and dialogue, promoting mutual understanding and friendship among peoples of different countries, and fostering inclusive coexistence of different civilizations, can countries better promote the common values of humanity and facilitate cultural exchange in the digital world.

China has been upholding the principles of openness and inclusiveness, promoting online dialogue and communication among different civilizations, and making the internet an important platform for showcasing the diverse cultures of the world. It has built the multilingual platform Travel Silk Road and hosted the Treasure Hunt Relay: Global Museum Director’s Choice in recent years.

As the internet becomes a new driving force of development, a new frontier of ensuring security, and a new platform for mutual learning between civilizations, the building of a community with a shared future in cyberspace is a natural choice in answering the call of the times and a common aspiration of the international community.

China will deepen cooperation with the rest of the world, jointly advance the building of a community with a shared future in cyberspace to a new stage, and let the fruits of internet development benefit more countries and people.

By Liu Tianliang, People’s Daily

China’s door of opening up will only open wider, and will never be closed. This is a promise China has made to the world.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced at the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that China will remove all restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector.

As a manufacturing powerhouse, China is continuously deepening its opening up in this field, demonstrating its firm attitude and determination to promote high-quality development through high-level opening up.

Actively attracting and utilizing foreign investment has been an important experience for China’s rapid development since the reform and opening up. China has persistently pursued development with its door open, attracting a large number of high-quality foreign enterprises to invest and develop in the country.

According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce, from January to September this year, 37,814 new foreign-invested enterprises were established nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 32.4 percent. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Chinese mainland in actual use totaled 919.97 billion yuan ($126.37 billion), which, although slightly lower compared to the high base during the same period last year, still remained at a historically high level.

The strong momentum of foreign investment in China has created new market opportunities and helped boost confidence and improve expectations.

As China has continued to open up more broadly and deeply, it has integrated into the global industrial and supply chain system, forging closer ties with the world economy.

At the same time, China has been continuously improving its ability to allocate resources globally, enhancing the synergistic effects between the domestic and international markets and resources.

In recent years, China has been optimizing the evaluation of foreign investment promotion, placing more emphasis on the actual contribution of investment to economic and social development, which has attracted more high-quality foreign investment.

In the first three quarters, the actual use of foreign investment in high-tech manufacturing increased by 12.8 percent. Some developed economies have expanded their investment in China, with actual investments from France, the UK, and Canada growing by 121.7 percent, 116.9 percent, and 109.2 percent, respectively.

In order to enhance its appeal to high-quality foreign investment, China has focused on institutional opening up, accelerating the development of new systems for a higher-level open economy.

In recent years, China has taken proactive measures to open up further, such as shortening its negative list for foreign investment access, establishing comprehensive demonstration zones for expanding opening up in the service industry, and connecting pilot free trade zones and free trade ports with high-standard international economic and trade rules.

China’s proactive efforts of opening up to promote reform and development have attracted more and more investors who understand China’s economic growth logic and have the foresight to make long-term investments in China, creating a favorable environment for the long-term stable development of the Chinese economy.

Currently, the global economy is undergoing a weak recovery, facing intensified inflation, insufficient demand, and a continuous decline in global cross-border direct investment.

Faced with increasingly fierce international competition in attracting foreign investment, China will take a more proactive approach to aligning with high-standard international economic and trade rules. It will effectively address prominent issues concerning foreign enterprises, refine and optimize supporting measures for the business environment, and enhance the attractiveness of the Chinese investment market with better quality services, more valuable innovations, and higher-quality talents.

China’s high-quality development can only be achieved through greater openness. With China’s enormous market, complete industrial system, abundant innovation application scenarios, and ample talent resources, its long-term positive trend of attracting foreign investment remains unchanged.

China will continuously expand the breadth and depth of its opening up, effectively promote sustained economic recovery, and provide new opportunities for the world through its new development.

By Yu Yichun, Zhao Yipu, People’s Daily

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a letter to the sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) on Nov. 5. Xi said China will always be an important opportunity for global development, firmly advance high-standard opening up and continue to make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all.

International personages participating in the expo told People’s Daily that Xi’s letter once again demonstrated to the world China’s firm determination to expand opening up and promote common development, and charted the course for the CIIE to better promote win-win cooperation.

First held in 2018, the annual expo has leveraged the strengths of China’s enormous market, fulfilled its platform function for international procurement, investment promotion, people-to-people exchanges and open cooperation, and made positive contributions to creating a new development pattern and promoting world economic development, Xi said in the letter.

Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Roy Bhila told People’s Daily that the CIIE, a world-class economic and trade fair, plays a positive role in deepening global economic and trade cooperation, promoting enterprise innovation and advancing global development.

American multinational conglomerate 3M Company has participated in the CIIE for six consecutive years. It has introduced multiple innovative products to the Chinese market through the expo.

Edward Kaleta, senior vice president of 3M Company, told People’s Daily that the CIIE is an open and cooperative platform, and China’s policy of opening up has brought tangible benefits to companies around the world.

Bruno Chevot, president of Danone China, North Asia and Oceania, noted that China’s efforts to build a new development pattern and promote high-quality economic development have brought positive impacts on global economic cooperation and trade development, and provided constant opportunities for foreign-invested enterprises in China.

“President Xi’s letter conveyed to the world China’s commitment to win-win cooperation, showing the country’s determination to maintain the high-level opening up. This has further strengthened our confidence in deepening our presence in the Chinese market,” said Mike Hwang, president of Amorepacific China. Having participated in the CIIE for six consecutive years, the company has witnessed the increasing openness of China, Hwang said.

“President Xi’s emphasis on China’s firm commitment to high-level opening up has filled Danish businesses with confidence in developing in the Chinese market,” said Michelle Chen Moeller, consultant for global market development at Confederation of Danish Industry.

China is an important trade partner of Denmark, and over 20 Danish food companies participate in this year’s CIIE, seven of which exhibit for the sixth consecutive time and five for their debut.

“Seeing the immense opportunities and unlimited potential of the Chinese market, more and more Danish companies are participating in the CIIE,” Moeller said.

As one of the first foreign pharmaceutical companies to enter the Chinese market, Pfizer has witnessed the rapid development of the Chinese market and pharmaceutical industry, president of Pfizer Global Biopharmaceuticals Business China Jean-Christophe Pointeau said.

According to Pointeau, China has continually worked to improve the drug review and approval process, boosting more innovative products to reach the market. He added that the active participation of American companies in the CIIE reflects the positive impact of the expo in promoting openness and cooperation.

“The letter from President Xi has convinced us that China’s door will always remain open to the outside world. All economies should actively participate in the process of economic globalization, promoting development through openness and seeking win-win cooperation,” noted Richard Kozul-Wright, director of UNCTAD’s globalization and development strategies division.

Given the sluggish recovery of the world economy, both developed and developing countries need a more open Chinese market and the new opportunities brought by China’s new development, he said.

Xi said in his letter that he hopes the CIIE will better serve as a window for fostering a new development pattern that creates new opportunities for the world through China’s further development, and as a platform of high-standard opening up that allows China’s enormous market to be shared by the world.

He also expressed the hope that the expo will play a greater role in providing shared international public goods and services that facilitate an open world economy and let the world benefit from win-win cooperation.

This struck a chord with Michael Gelchie, chief executive officer of Louis Dreyfus Company, a Netherlands-based agricultural merchant and processor. He told People’s Daily that the company has been continuously deepening its cooperation with Chinese partners over the past 50 years of its development in China, noting that China plays a significant role in the global economy and has enormous market potential.

“We hope to actively integrate into the Chinese market and jointly explore cooperation opportunities,” he added.

“Last year, when we participated in the expo for the first time, we experienced the positive spillover effect of the CIIE, where exhibits turned into commodities. This year, we have expanded our booth area by five times,” said Jin Fangqian, vice-president of Gilead Sciences and general manager of its China operations.

He said that China is committed to providing a more stable and high-quality business environment for foreign companies to create more market opportunities, which has further strengthened the confidence of foreign enterprises in expanding their presence in the Chinese market.

By Guo Jiping, People’s Daily

The sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) will be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) from Nov. 5 to 10.

The CIIE, a pioneering event in the history of international trade development, has become a showcase of China’s new development pattern, a platform for high-level opening-up, and a public good shared by the whole world.

This year’s CIIE fully resumes offline activities, and is expected to welcome guests from 154 countries, regions, and international organizations. So far, 69 countries and three international organizations have confirmed their participation in the Country Exhibition. Over 3,400 exhibitors and nearly 410,000 professional visitors have registered for the event, with a record number of Global Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders in attendance.

Since the first CIIE, many participating companies have expressed similar sentiments, speaking of the tremendous appeal of the event. Some said they would bring their best and latest products to the event, and some promised to introduce their countries’ specialties. For them, the CIIE brings not just orders, but also the future and hopes.

The achievements of the past five editions of the CIIE have been remarkable: 131 countries and international organizations participated in the Country Exhibition; over 15,000 exhibitors joined the Business Exhibition; the cumulative number of registered visitors exceeded 2 million; the cumulative intended turnover amounted to $350 billion.

The CIIE not only attracts multinational companies, but also gathers upstream and downstream enterprises, providing opportunities for cooperation for various industries to reorganize and optimize themselves on a global scale. Many exhibitors said that at the CIIE, they can deepen exchanges with companies and partners in the same industry or even across industries, and discuss cooperation prospects together.

The previous five sessions of the CIIE have seen debuts of around 2,000 new and innovative products, technologies and services, including intelligent mobile hospitals, hydrogen-fueled concept cars, direct-injection digital printers, and vertical farms. It has become an incubator for technological innovation with global impact.

The CIIE also provides free standard booths and fee reduction measures for the least developed countries. It has been joined by enterprises from 43 least developed countries in the previous five sessions.

With the help of the CIIE, products such as coffee from Timor-Leste, pine nuts from Afghanistan, and cashews from Cambodia have achieved unprecedented sales in the Chinese market.

The “CIIE effect” continues to amplify. The Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trading Center provides a permanent exhibition and sales platform for small and medium-sized enterprises participating in the CIIE. Since the first CIIE, Shanghai has recognized a total of 60 “6+365” trading platforms and introduced nearly 270,000 types of exhibits, with a cumulative import value of over 323 billion yuan ($44.22 billion).

German multinational glass company Schott AG said the CIIE presents a vivid and lively representation of the entire Chinese market. The company participated in the first CIIE with a “give it a try” attitude. From then on, it attended the expo every year, increased its investment and even established new factories in China.

The head of Schott China stated that with the expo, the company has achieved unparalleled growth, and continuing to invest in the Chinese market is a strategic choice for the future.

Thanks to the CIIE, exhibits have turned into commodities and exhibitors have become investors. An increasing number of multinational corporations are deeply integrated into China’s industrial and innovation networks.

Since the beginning of this year, multinational companies have continued to increase investment and expand production in China, with projects progressing at a faster pace. Global refrigeration industry giant Danfoss has put into operation a global refrigeration R&D testing center, German chemical giant BASF’s integrated base has started construction on its syngas facility in Zhanjiang, south China’s Guangdong province, and Airbus has begun construction on its second final assembly line for the A320 series aircraft in Tianjin.

In the first nine months of this year, China has established 37,814 new foreign-invested enterprises, with a year-on-year increase of 32.4 percent.

The CIIE mirrors the resilience and vitality of the Chinese economy, to deepen reform and pursue high-quality development through greater openness.

For some time now, the global economic recovery has faced headwinds, but China has withstood the pressures and continued its rebound, with its economic growth among the highest in major economies worldwide.

China is steadfastly pushing for higher-level opening up, and actively expanding imports. It has remained the world’s second-largest import market for 14 consecutive years. With a population of over 1.4 billion and a middle-income group of over 400 million people, China constitutes the world’s second-largest consumer market and the largest online retail market.

Kenneth Jarrett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, noted that many companies with global markets need to achieve economies of scale, and if they don’t come to China, they won’t be able to reach the economic scale needed to maintain global competitiveness.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said that opening up is the hallmark of contemporary China. In his keynote speeches and addresses delivered at the previous five sessions of the CIIE, the word “openness” was mentioned over 100 times. The measures he announced at the CIIE to expand opening up have been gradually implemented, effectively promoting new progress in high-level opening-up.

China has established the Lingang new area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, implemented an integrated development strategy in the Yangtze River Delta region, released an overall plan for the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, further expanded reform and opening up in Shenzhen, continuously improved business environment, and strengthened intellectual property protection.

China has deepened reform by opening up, and conversely, pursued deeper reforms to enable greater openness. This benefits not only China’s own development but also the world.

The CIIE belongs not just to China, but to the world. Looking ahead, China is willing to work together with all countries to practice true multilateralism, build a greater consensus of openness, jointly overcome the difficulties and challenges facing global economic development, and usher in a brighter future for development worldwide through opening up.