A Fair Shot

By Zhang Shasha

At the Second China International Import Expo （CIIE） in Shanghai last year， a new sparkle was added by the launch of the Extraordinary Italian Jewelry Pavilion that brought 15 iconic jewelry brands from Italy. It was an initiative of the Italian national gold jewelry manufacturers association and Shanghai-based Chinese jewelry brand Vetiver， who also signed an agreement to introduce more Italian jewelry manufacturers to the Chinese market.

This year too， Vetiver is gearing up for the Third CIIE， to be held from November 5 to 10. It will be its third attendance at the fair. However， this time， the urgency is far greater.

“Italian jewelers traditional and mainstream markets used to be Europe and the U.S. But now， as they grapple with the novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19）， China is their new hope for 2020，” Chen Haiyan， cofounder of Vetiver， told Guangming Daily.

Despite COVID-19 becoming a pandemic， the Third CIIE will be held offl ine as scheduled as the situation in China is under control and preparations are in full swing.

When the 100-day countdown to the event started， Sun Chenghai， Deputy Director of the CIIE Bureau， said the pandemic has not dampened exhibitors enthusiasm. In the three exhibition areas for consumer goods， medical equipment and healthcare products， and trade in services， the stalls booked by them have surpassed the originally scheduled space. The automobile area is also close to being fully booked.

Special year， special steps

“It seems the epidemic has had limited impact on exhibitors，” Zhou Lingyan， Deputy General Manager of the CIIE Department of the National Exhibition and Convention Center （Shanghai）， the venue of CIIE， told Xinhua News Agency in February. In February， CIIE also held its first webinar where companies could sign up online.

French tire manufacturer Michelin was one of the fi rst to do so. Having missed the first two editions， the company is keen to seize the opportunity this time. Praising the wisdom of online contract signing， Wei Shujie， Michelins China district CEO， said he was confident of the Chinese market and economy.

“CIIE will become the most powerful growth driver for the global economy，” he said.

Cloud promotions are being held in response to the pandemic with several webinars organized for trade and commerce representatives from different countries. One of the latest online events was promoting the fair to Argentine companies on July 22.

Xia Diya， Counselor of the Economic and Commercial Offi ce of the Chinese Embassy in Argentina， said China became the largest trading partner of Argentina in May.

To make things easy for exhibitors， the General Administration of Customs of China（GACC） has announced several facilitation measures. Instead of overseas exhibitors， the fair organizer will provide the required tax guarantee to lighten the formers burden. Also， exhibited products can subsequently be transferred to specially supervised areas， where they can be sold through e-commerce platforms， which will also reduce costs.

Dang Xiaohong， deputy head of GACCs Port Control Department， said the measure will help exhibits become commodities， expanding the ways to import foreign goods.

With the pandemic still out of control in many countries， CIIE has formed special committees to deal with different aspects， like public health and epidemic prevention.

Choosing long term

With foreign exhibitors discovering the potential of the huge Chinese market， many are establishing long-term cooperation relations with CIIE. Recently， 35 member enterprises of the CIIE Exhibitors Association， a 142-member body whose members are from nearly two dozen countries and regions， signed a memorandum for participating in CIIE for three years. They include some of the worlds top 500 companies and industry leaders. The move shows companies confi dence in growing with CIIE and the Chinese market.

Sun， who is also secretary general of the association， said he hopes the cooperation will lead to these companies bringing in their technological innovation capacities and offering invaluable suggestions to build a bridge between China and the outside world.

French beauty company LOreal is the first rotating chairman of the association. Its China district president and CEO Fabrice Megarbane said the company will draw on its past experience to enlarge the ecosystem of exhibitors and make the Third CIIE more infl uential.

He said after the losses suffered by the global economy and trade due to the pandemic， the news that CIIE would be held as scheduled sends the signal that China is committed to opening up， inclusiveness and win-win cooperation as well as sharing its prosperity.

In May， Tapestry， the parent company of U.S. luxury accessory maker Coach， signed a long-term cooperation memorandum with CIIE， becoming the fi rst exhibitor to sign up for its third to fi fth editions. Jide Zeitlin， chair and CEO of the group， said the pandemic will not change Chinas long-term positive trend of economic development.

“We will attend CIIE every year and are ready to sign a five-year contract，” Zhou Wenbing， General Manager of Miji， China district， said. Miji is a German kitchenware supplier.

Zhou said with CIIE attracting a large number of “new friends” every year， it is becoming diffi cult to “grab a seat” at the expo， one reason the company wants to sign the memorandum.

Miji also plans to purchase 1.33 hectares of industrial land in the town of Pujiang in Shanghai where it will set up its China headquarters， brand research and development（R&D） center and product exhibition center.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development， this year global foreign direct investment is likely to shrink by 40 percent. However， foreign investment in Shanghai reached $10.28 billion in the fi rst half of the year， up 5.4 percent year on year， according to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

In July， new investment continued to come in with 54 foreign-funded projects signed up collectively in Shanghai， featuring$8 billion.

Boehringer Ingelheim， a German pharmaceutical that will be attending CIIE for the third consecutive year， is one of the investors. It plans to put in an additional 451 million euro （$529 million） in Shanghai in the next fi ve years to expand its production and R&D bases.