China Focus: Foreign officials, entrepreneurs at CIIE laud China's opening-up, opportunities

SHANGHAI, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- At this year's China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, Ghazaryan Koryun, commercial counselor at the Armenian Embassy in China, introduced in fluent Chinese the top-notch wine and fruit from his country to visitors.

It was Koryun's second time to participate the CIIE, the seventh edition held from Nov. 5 to 10. Once a student in China's Jilin University and later a diplomat, Koryun described his return to the country as "like going from one home to another."

This year's CIIE hosted 3,496 exhibitors from 129 countries and regions. A record-breaking 297 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders attended the event. Its total exhibition area at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) exceeded 420,000 square meters.

Koryun said this year's event has been more fulfilling. "More companies are interested in participating and have a better understanding of China," he said. "We will participate again next year."

Bernardo Munoz, counselor at Peru's Consulate General in Shanghai, said that Peru is also a regular CIIE client.

"The idea is to learn from both sides. We want to understand more and have the opportunity to use this platform," Munoz said. "We can work together so our populations have a better quality of life."

"I was here last year to celebrate the sixth CIIE and we had great results for U.S. agriculture. So we wanted to come back again this year and build upon that work," said Jason Hafemeister, acting deputy under-secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, adding that the CIIE is a great chance for U.S. agriculture to meet its customers in China, its largest market.

"I also think we can share ideas around agriculture production. Both of us are very serious about improving the productivity of our farmers," Hafemeister told Xinhua. "We can provide new ideas and new technologies -- new ways of farming -- to our farmers, which will allow them to address these challenges of climate and other risks that farmers face."

Maria Leota, who is from Samoa and owns a skincare brand, has attended the CIIE three times since 2018 to market her products such as antioxidant oil and lip balm.

"For me, it was a more successful year. All my products were sold out the second day," Leota said, adding that she would bring more next year.

Berlianto Situngkir, consul general of Indonesia in Shanghai, said he saw at the CIIE that all the participants were promoting the premium and top products from their countries.

"Our presence in China is very strong, and hopefully it will be strengthened," he said, noting that Indonesia has been striving to diversify its offerings each year, opting to highlight Indonesian spices and coffee this year.

African products have attracted a lot of attention at the import expo. Prudence Sebahizi, Rwanda's minister of trade and industry, told Xinhua that Rwanda has participated in the CIIE seven times and brought several products to this year's event, including chili, honey, coffee and handicraft products.

"We have the opportunity to showcase what Africa produces -- and what Rwanda, in particular, produces. We have come here with business people from Rwanda to showcase what Rwanda can sell to the world," said the minister.

L'Oréal Group Chairman Jean-Paul Agon told Xinhua that his company was among the first to sign up for the inaugural CIIE.

No other country has created an exhibition like the CIIE, which has been a symbol and a way for China to follow its policy of opening to the world, he said. "I think it was a great idea, and that's also why we want to promote it as much as we can."

"Every year, we see a certain message that's carrying this event forward. I think this year is the high-quality opening-up," said Frank Hammes, CEO of IQAir, a Swiss air purification technology company founded in 1963.

"I think China realizes that the reciprocity is important, especially in terms of trade. It is both a competitive player in the international field, and a driving force," he said.

The ease with which foreign CIIE participants are navigating China has also increased this year partly thanks to the changes brought about by the technological advancement in the country.

During her stay in Shanghai, Leota from Samoa discovered that Alipay and WeChat could be linked to foreign credit cards, and she could even use her Samoan cards to take the metro and taxis.

"I'm doing everything with my phone, something that was impossible in 2018."