Free-spending shoppers stock up on premium consumer goods as US$71 billion worth of deals are signed at China import expo
- Deals at the second edition of the China International Import Expo rose 23 per cent from last year
- New Zealand-based Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy exporter, signed deals totalling 18 billion yuan with Chinese partners including Alibaba Group Holding and New Hope Group
A buying frenzy saw thousands of shoppers stocking up on imported consumer products ranging from milk and wine to apparel and jewellery at the high-profile China International Import Expo, giving a helping hand to Beijing’s efforts to combat an economic slowdown through a “consumption upgrade”.
Jane Kong, 40, bought a wide range of products – processed meat from Uruguay, honey from New Zealand and plum wine from Japan at the expo in Shanghai, but she was also disappointed as many of the items that she had her eyes on were sold out.
“It is worth spending a day to hunt for good food products and daily necessities here,” she said. “You need to move fast to spot the good items and buy them. Otherwise you will miss them.”
The CIIE, in its second year, was designed for mainland companies to buy more imported goods as a way of striking a trade balance amid the gruelling 15-month long US-China trade war.
“Chinese people are no longer price sensitive, and we are willing to spend thousands of yuan on high-quality food products,” Kong said. “I have the faith in consumption upgrade and believe the economy will remain healthy due to increasing spending.”
The Chinese authorities use the phrase “consumption upgrade” to describe the growing demand for high-quality, higher-priced goods and services.