International Companies Flock to 5th CIIE China
The two-day trade and investment China international companies like International Import Expo (CIIE) generated potential business worth $4 billion, according to reports.
CCTV News App reported that more than 1,100 enterprises from over 50 countries and regions were present at the Shanghai event, with cross-border ‘matchmaking’ activities also held online.
Over half of the world’s top 500 companies and industrial leading enterprises participate in the exhibition, and a total of 145 countries, regions and international organizations took part in the event.
The conference boosted cross-border cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises at home and abroad, according to the Bureau of the China International Import Expo.
This year’s event had six exhibition areas covering: food and agricultural products; automobile; intelligent industry and information technology; consumer goods; medical equipment and healthcare products; and trade in services sectors.
Seven exhibits were unveiled in the automobile sector, among them the Porsche Mission R, an all-electric vehicle for motorsports. And Tesla’s robot, Tesla Bot, made its China debut during the expo, with the car manufacturers’ major product line – Model S Plaid, Model X Plaid, Model 3, Model Y – on display.
This time the expo has set up two special exhibit zones: Artificial Intelligence, covering 5,000 square metres, and Crop and Seed.
The world’s three leading seed companies, Bayer, Codihua and Syngenta, all participated in the expo, showcasing their new technologies in breeding, planting and mechanized production.
World-leading integrated circuit (IC) manufacturers said the fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE) is a valuable platform for expanding co-operation with China, expressing their desire for more investment in the vast market.
In the tech sector, US company Qualcomm, which has participated in the event for five consecutive years, displayed a number of phones which are jointly made with its Chinese partners, including Xiaomi, Honor, OPPO and Vivo.
“The CIIE is a valuable platform for communication and cooperation for Qualcomm,” said Meng Pu, chairman of Qualcomm China. “In the past five years, our cooperation in China has expanded from mobile phone to automobile, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, extended reality and other fields.”
Texas Instruments (TI) said revealed its plan for expansion of its assembly and test facility in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu at the event.
Jiang Han, vice president of TI and president of TI China, said: “The expansion of the manufacturing base in Chengdu and the upgrading of the product distribution centre in Shanghai further demonstrated the firm belief of TI to deeply invest in China and serve customers.”
The event also attracted chip companies from Japan and Europe, including Japanese semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electronics Corporation and Dutch chip equipment company ASML.
The themes of the CIIE – openness and cooperation – are in line with the ASML’s overall purpose, said Shen Bo, ASML senior vice-president and president of ASML China. “Our participation in the CIIE also shows this attitude: to support the openness and cooperation of the industry, and hope to work with industry partners to promote technological progress,” Shen said.
Another major international company attending was Ikea, which unveiled its new Bruksvara range of affordable furniture at the CIIE.
Sven Rau, vice-president of Ikea China, said the company will be opening a new store in Hefei, capital city of East China’s Anhui province, at the end of 2022. A new store in the Linkong area in western Shanghai and the second store in Xi’an of Northwest China’s Shaanxi province are currently under construction.
Rau said that Ikea has attended every CIIE, describing China as one of the most important markets for the company.
“Through this exhibition, Ikea looks forward to participating in China’s economic development and addressing Chinese consumers’ demands for a green and diversified home, which in turn would help the company’s long-term business development in the Chinese market,” he said.
