Views on CIIE from foreign perspective Day 2

Milano Finanza, Italy

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the slow global economic recovery, the fourth China International Import Expo will be held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10. The new convening of this event shows the country's desire to share with the rest of the world the opportunities brought by its development and to stimulate global economic recovery.

As the country's first import-themed expo, the CIIE has promoted a better connection between China and the rest of the world by providing an important platform for investment promotion, cultural exchange and open cooperation.

With an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters, this year's CIIE could attract more companies and more countries and regions than the last edition.

Fortune Global 500 companies and leading companies in various sectors have made efforts to participate in the event; of these, 80 percent have taken part in previous exhibitions and have decided to continue participating in this year's event.

This year the number of overseas small and medium-sized enterprises participating will see a 30 percent increase.

The Economist, Argentina

Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez spoke at the China International Import Expo: "It will be essential to approach international trade from a win-win perspective."

He was invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping to inaugurate the import-export fair.

President Fernandez participated on Friday morning through a recorded message from the Casa Rosada for the inauguration of the fourth edition of the CIIE, the most important import and export fair in the world that takes place November 5-10 in Shanghai.

"We must welcome the growing recovery of international trade and make our best efforts to achieve a more open, fair and balanced trade that brings us closer to a world in which no one is left behind," the Argentine president said during his speech.

Nikkei, Japan

President Xi Jinping delivered a video keynote speech titled "Let the Breeze of Openness Bring Warmth to the World" at the 4th CIIE opening ceremony to attest to China's openness and reiterate its willingness to join the TPP.

Xi said that China will "work actively for joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA)."

Radio-Television Vojvodina, Serbia

For the fourth year in a row, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) and Serbian Development Agency (RAS) organized Serbian companies to attend the China International Import Expo. Thirteen companies from the country's food and beverage industry will be present at the Serbian national booth under the slogan "We share our best with China."

Zoran Delic from PKS said it's a good chance to reach out to Chinese importers and distributors and develop business links with them, and that the CIIE is a good place to collect new ideas and follow trends of the world.

RAS said the friendship and good diplomatic relations between Serbia and China set a great stage for new business opportunities, especially increasing exports of Serbian products to China.

TASS, Russia

The fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE), which began on Friday in Shanghai and will run until November 10, was more representative than last year and organized amid strict sanitary control measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the pandemic, organizers managed to expand the total area of the exposition over last year's event, when the figure was 360,000 square meters. The area of exhibition pavilions for the 500 largest private enterprises in the world also increased.

This year, the Russian national exposition will be a part of the exhibition, with 31 Russian companies, almost half of which will participate online.

Al Raya, Qatar

Invest Qatar, the "Brand of the Qatar Investment Promotion Agency," announced that it will host a virtual Qatari pavilion within the framework of the electronic exhibition on the official website of the fourth edition of the China International Import Expo.

The expo, both virtual and physical, kicked off on Friday in Shanghai and will continue until November 10, organized by the Chinese government.

(Compiled by Chen Huizhi/Shanghai Daily, and Yang Jiayuan, Zhang Yujue, Lu Yanjun, Yi Luojing, Chen Junqing/Shanghai International Studies University)