By Lily Wang

There were six exhibition ar- eas with a total exhibition space of 366 thousand sq. m. Approximately 3，000 exhibitors from 127 countries and regions participated in the exhibition on site， and 58 countries and 3 international organizations participated in the online country exhibition. 281 world top 500 companies also joined the event， with 40 of them making their debut. The intended transaction value for deals reached USD 70.72 billion and the total number of visits by global netizens surpassed 580 million.

Against the backdrop of the spreading pandemic and a sluggish world economy， the fourth China International Import Expo （CIIE） has put into practice Chinas commitment to “make the exhibition better”， showing Chinas power and charisma as an opened-up country. This event has made positive contributions to inter- national trade growth and world economic development in the post-pandemic era.

“Let the wind of opening-up warm the world”

“Chinas determination to expand its high-level opening-up， share development opportunities with the world， and promote economic globalization in a more open， inclusive， balanced and win-win direction will not change，” said Chinese President Xi Jinping on the night of November 4， in his keynotes speech entitled “Let the wind of opening-up warm the world” at the opening ceremony of the fourth CIIE.

Xi Jinping emphasized the ideas of “seeing the outcome and knowing the reason， studying the past and foretelling future changes”. It is clear that Chinas determination to expand its high-level opening-up， share development opportunities with the world， and promote economic globalization in a more open， inclusive， balanced and win-win direction will not change.

First， China will unswervingly uphold true multilateralism. The multilateral trading system with the WTO as the core is the cornerstone of international trade. China supports the reform of the WTO in the right direction， the inclusive development of the multilateral trading system， and the legitimate rights and interests of developing member countries. China will actively and openly participate in negotiations on issues such as the digital economy， trade and environment， industrial subsidies and state-owned enterprises， maintain the status of the main channel for the formulation of international rules of the multilateral trading system， and safeguard the stability of the global industrial chain and the supply chain.

Second， China will share market opportunities with the rest of the world. China will pay more attention to expanding imports， promoting balanced trade development， setting up import promotion innovation demonstration zones， optimizing the list of cross-border e-commerce retail imported goods， promoting the bartering trade between border inhabitants and the manufacturing of imported products， and increasing imports from neighboring countries. China will also promote the integration of domestic and foreign trade， accelerate the construction of central international consumption cities， develop“Silk Road e-commerce”， build a modern logistics system， and improve its cross-border logistics capacity.

Third， China will never hesitate in promoting high-level opening-up. China will further reduce the nega- tive list for foreign investment market access， expand the opening up of service industries such as telecommunications and medical services in an orderly manner， revise and expand the Catalog of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment， and issue negative lists for cross-border service trade in pilot free trade zones. China will deeply participate in international cooperation such as the green， low-carbon and digital economy， and will actively promote its accession to the CPTPP （Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership） and DEPA （Digital Economy Partnership Agreement）.

Fourth， China will continue to safeguard the common interests of the world. China will actively participate in cooperation mechanisms such as the UN， WTO， G20， APEC and SCO （Shanghai Cooperation Organization）， and will promote discussions on issues such as trade and investment， the digital economy， and green and low carbon development. China will support the fair distribution and trade flow of key medical materials such as vaccines across the world， and promote the construction of the Belt and Road with the highest quality. China will actively participate in addressing climate change and safeguarding global food stores and energy security， and will continue to provide more assistance to other developing countries within the framework of South-South cooperation.

Global cooperation over the past 20 years

The success of CIIE was inevitable and is deeply connected with Chinas cooperation with the rest of the world.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Chinas participation in the WTO. “Since joining the WTO， China has begun opening its door wider to the world， which stimulated Chinas development， as well as the world economy，” said Xi Jinping in his speech.

Over the past 20 years， Chinas total GDP has risen from the sixth to the second in the world; Chinas trade in goods rose from the sixth place to first place globally; Chinas trade in services rose from 11th to second in the world; Chinas utilization of foreign capital ranks first among developing countries; the foreign direct investment rose from 26th to first in the world; the total trade value of Chinas goods has grown from USD 0.51 trillion in 2001 to USD 4.65 trillion in 2020; and Chinas share of the global GDP has increased from 4% in 2001 to 17% in 2020.

From the signing ceremony of Chinas accession to the WTO to the white paper on China and the World Trade Organization， from pictures showing the WTO negotiation process to videos showing Chinas adherence to its commitments and practice of multilateralism， a special exhibition on the 20th anniversary of Chinas accession to the WTO was on display at the CIIE， vividly showing the development process of China and its relations the world since Chinas entry to the WTO.

“Chinas accession to the WTO is a milestone，” said Marcos Prado Troyjo， President of the BRICs New Development Bank. Since then， China has been fully integrated into the world economy and has achieved the pinnacle of development.

“Chinas entry to the WTO has proved to be one of the most important economic events in the history of China and the modern world. It has created a win-win result for both China and the world，” said Yi Xiaozhun， former Deputy Director General of the WTO， at the high-level forum on the 20th anniversary of Chinas accession to the World Trade Organization which was held during the CIIE.

Supachai Panitchpakdi， former Director General of the WTO， said that Chinas WTO accession commitment is the deepest and most extensive among all member countries. It includes not only relaxed market access for goods and services as originally outlined， but has also reached a higher level of relaxation in some fields.

“Chinas practical actions have proven that the multilateral trading system can and does promote development. China will play an important role in post-pandemic economic recovery and promoting the establishment of a stronger， more inclusive and fairer multilateral trading system，” said Rebeca Grynspan， Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

“Without China， the WTO could not be called a world organization，” said WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala， pointing out that China has been increasingly active in the core activities of the WTO， and has helped new WTO members better integrate into the multilateral trading system.

“The facts show that Chinas accession to the WTO has created a winwin situation for both China and the rest of the world，” reiterated Tu Xinquan， Chairman of the China Institute for WTO Studies， the University of International Business and Economics.

Building an open and fair business environment

Opening up is a consistent and unchanging feature of the CIIE. In this regard， exhibitors from both China and foreign countries have felt the openness of the CIIE.

“Building a more open and fair business environment and treating do- mestic and foreign enterprises equally has given us more confidence in doing business in China for a long time，” said Yin Zheng， Global Executive Vice president of Schneider Electric.

“We have served 200 enterprises by participating in the CIIE. We have learned that international enterprises have attracted more customers and improved their brand reputations through joining the CIIE， which will aid the localization of international enterprises in China. Generally speaking， enterprises recognition of the Expo has been improving，” said Wu Jingjing， President of Top Bridge Expo Group， a service provider for the national pavilions of the CIIE. Almost all the enterprises the group served have participated in the CIIE repeatedly.

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Fujiwara Kentaro， CEO of Shiseido China， said that the speech given by Chinas President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the fourth CIIE has boosted his confidence. “The world is in a critical period in terms of fighting the pandemic and promoting economic recovery. The Chinese government has successfully hosted the fourth CIIE to share its fruitful results of global cooperation with the world， showing Chinas willingness to open its door wider to the world as a large country. This will boost the confidence of foreign enterprises seeking business opportunities in China，” he said.

Kenji Maeda， JETRO Shanghai Director， has witnessed great changes in the 20 years since Chinas accession to the WTO. He elaborated， “China is one of the most important overseas markets for Japanese companies. The CIIE is like a huge magnetic field， providing a one-stop platform for enterprises from all over the world to exhibit their products and services and create business communication and cooperation. Certainly， competition is becoming more and more fierce. Japanese companies need to make continuous efforts and produce good products for Chinese consumers， so as to consolidate their market share in China.” He also said that after living in China for many years， he personally felt the great efforts made by the Chinese government to improve the business environment， and believed that there will be huge progress in the economic and trade cooperation between Japan and China in the future.