As China hosts the fourth international import expo (CIIE) in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10, global exhibitors have shown more interest and confidence in seizing new opportunities in the Chinese market.
For Kenji Mizuta, president of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)'s Shanghai Representative Office, the fourth CIIE will be one of the two largest events his organization will have attended this year.
"JETRO has been coming to CIIE for four consecutive years and we could bring nearly 300 Japanese enterprises to participate in this year's exhibition," Kenji Mizuta said.
"With a total exhibition area of 2,900 square meters, which is 400 square meters more than last year, we hope our products and services would bring a brand-new experience for upcoming visitors," he said.
He added the epidemic that has affected Japanese enterprises' investment in China makes it all the more important to strengthen economic and trade exchanges between the countries.
"As the world's first import-themed national-level expo, also a huge move by China to open its market, the CIIE, with its more evident spillover effect, serves as a platform for Japanese enterprises to continuously find new development opportunities amid the epidemic," he said.
Pakistani businessman Habib Ur Rehman has been busy setting up a booth at the expo these days.
"For four years, I have been longing to participate in the CIIE," said the businessman, who is gearing up to promote salt lamps from Pakistan at his 18-square-meter booth in the expo.
Salt lamps, made from minerals in mountainous areas, are well known in Pakistan yet new to the Chinese market. "Many merchants in China are very interested in our products, making me more confident about this debut," he said.
"The expo is a good platform to bring more business opportunities and let more people know about Pakistani products," he added.
Through the CIIE, Turkish businessman Ramazan Tuzen's porcelain, silk scarves and candles have become popular in the Chinese market.
His business went on the fast track and jumped on the bandwagon of the first CIIE in 2018 when there were only about 500 products in his shop in Shanghai. The number has now crossed 1,000, with the annual sales revenue increasing to over 10 million yuan (about 1.56 million U.S. dollars).
"We are trying to bring more different products to China," he said adding that he plans to run shops in some cities of the southern China's island province of Hainan next.
"China in my eyes is a very open and safe country with huge business value," he said. "I'm happy to be here for 12 years."
