Why China is betting on Shanghai trade expo for global goodwill
China’s inaugural import fair is the first sign of the nation’s transformation from the world’s factory to a consumption-driven economy.
As many as 120 countries had overbooked the exhibition area in China’s inaugural global import expo by 20 per cent, an overwhelming response that undergirds the transformation of the nation from the world’s biggest exporter to a consumption-driven economy.
The China International Import Expo, scheduled from November 5 to 10 in Shanghai, had attracted more than the expected number of participants, Commerce Minister Zhong Shan told a press conference in Beijing on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress.
For the expo’s “national image display”, open to governments, China had originally planned to have 60 exhibiting countries, but many more wanted to take part, Zhong said. For the trade fair, open to merchants, companies from 120 countries had overbooked the exhibition area by 20 per cent, even though the event was still eight months away.
The fair was a reflection of Beijing’s push to better balance its trade with other nations by boosting imports and trimming its exports, said Tang Jianwei, an analyst at Bank of Communications in Shanghai.