Thanks to the China International Import Expo (CIIE), local jute handicrafts from Bangladesh are brought to China and distributed around the world through various sales channels within China.
Bangladeshi businessman Nurs Safa said CIIE and the Chinese market are improving the lives of Bangladeshi workers and providing life-changing opportunities for poor local families.
Safa has been participating in the expo for five years and was hoping to meet more customers at the upcoming 6th CIIE, which will be held in Shanghai from November 5th to 10th.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend the opening ceremony of the 6th CIIE on Sunday and deliver the keynote speech, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Friday.
Promoting Belt and Road cooperation
Prior to the expo, a Chinese and European freight train departed from Duisburg, Germany, carrying expo exhibits and arrived in Shanghai on October 11th.
As a symbolic project of “One Belt, One Road” cooperation, China-European freight trains have reached 217 cities in 25 European countries, recording about 77,000 trips as of September.
The train expanded the effects of the Expo, opened the door to global trade, and witnessed close interaction between the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and CIIE.
Of the 72 country exhibitors for the 6th CIIE, 64 are Belt and Road partner countries, Sun Chenghai, deputy director of the CIIE Secretariat, said at a press conference.
More than 1,500 companies from BRI partner countries participated in the business exhibition, with a total exhibition area of nearly 80,000 square meters, a 30% increase over last year's event, Sun said.
For Belt and Road partner countries in the least developed regions, CIIE will provide free booths at the expo and provide subsidies and tax incentives for the purchase of exhibits to help bring local specialties to the Chinese market. Son added that this will contribute to promoting market entry.
Support for open world economy
As the world's first import expo held at the national level, CIIE also aims to expand China's opening up and turn its vast market into global opportunities.
To support an open global economy, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road International Cooperation Forum in October that China will sign free trade agreements and investment protection agreements with more countries. Stated.
President Xi said China will remove all restrictions on foreign investment access to manufacturing.
He said efforts will be made to further promote high levels of openness in cross-border trade in services and investment, and to expand market access for digital and other products.
The 6th Hongqiao International Economic Forum, an integral part of CIIE, will include the “Year of Investing in China” summit, press conferences, and the international symposium on the World Openness Report 2023, including the release of the World Openness Index.
With the theme “Joining hands in development, unlocking the future”, the forum will hold 22 parallel sessions on development, cooperation, innovation and opening up of sharing.
Rodolfo Pastor de María, Secretary of the Presidential Office of Honduras, emphasized that China is a major driver of global trade and an important gateway to Asian markets for many Latin American countries.
He added that the upcoming expo will provide Honduran companies with an opportunity to better understand the Chinese market and connect with importers and exporters from around the world.
