China’s first global import fair signals shift to consumer-based growth
Some of the country’s biggest e-commerce companies will be at the China International Import Expo to help connect foreign suppliers with buyers
For six decades the Canton trade fair has provided a stage for Chinese exporters to showcase their wares to buyers from all corners of the globe.
Now, as Beijing attempts to shift towards an economic growth model based on domestic consumption, it’s the turn of the international brands to display their products and services, at the inaugural China International Import Expo.
And to help bridge the gap between foreign suppliers and consumers, some of the country’s biggest e-commerce companies will be out in force for the six-day event in Shanghai, scheduled for November.
Alibaba Group Holding’s cross-border business-to-business platform, 1688.COM, NetEase’s Kaola.com, RED and ymatou.com, are among those accredited as “permanent exhibition and trade platforms” for the fair, according to a list seen by the Post. Also in the first batch of firms to sign up is the Hong Kong trade, supply-chain management and retail major, Fung Group, with its Explorium project.
The fair has been promoted by President Xi Jinping as a key part of broader efforts to open up the mainland’s markets, facilitating the import of more high-quality products from overseas to meet domestic demand.
On Tuesday, Xi reiterated the importance of the Expo in boosting imports, stressing that it is “no ordinary event” at the Boao Forum. He had first announced it at the Belt and Road Summit in Beijing last May.
