China Council for the Promotion of International Trade （CCPIT）， established in 1952， is a national foreign economic and trade organization composed of representative people， enterprises and organizations in Chinas economic and trade circles， a strong link with the Communist Party of China （CPC） and the government and the economic and trade circles， an important bridge for domestic and foreign business circles to carry out economic and trade communication and cooperation， a major force in promoting the development of an open economy and serving the overall foreign work， and an important force in promoting the development of open economy and serving the overall situation of foreign affairs. Meanwhile， the CCPIT also takes on an important mission and plays a significant role in aiding to accelerate the construction of a new development pattern.

Over the last 70 years， the CCPIT has given full play to its role as a bridge between China and the rest of the world. It has been actively promoting friendly communication and economic and trade cooperation between regions and nations， continuing to improve trade promotion efficiency and contributing to Chinas diplomacy， foreign trade and economic cooperation and domestic economic and social development， by insisting on serving the overall layout and focusing on the center， taking China as a base and opening to the world， promoting policies to serve the economy in accordance with changing domestic and international situations and actual needs at different times.

The establishment of the CCPIT

On April 3， 1952， the World Peace Council held an international non-governmental conference in Moscow， the capital of the former Soviet Union， called the International Economic Conference in Moscow. It was attended by nearly 500 business representatives from 49 countries， including the Soviet Union， China， Britain， France， the United States， Bulgaria， India， Vietnam and Venezuela. China sent out a delegation of 25 members， with Nan Hanchen as its head， and Ji Chaoding as the secretary general.

The conference elected a 17-member presidium to host the conference， and Chambellon， a former member of the National Assembly of France， was publicly elected as the secretary general. The presidium included Nan Hanchen， governor of the Peoples Bank of China， Bastien， the former French Minister of Trade， Lord Boyd Orr of the Royal Society， and other economic scholars， entrepreneurs and bankers from the Soviet Union， the United States， Poland， Czechoslovakia， Argentina， Austria， Brazil， the Netherlands， India， Iran， Pakistan and more.

The conference put forward initiatives including establishing international trade promotion committees in member countries and strengthening trade contacts between the East and the West. The 9-day conference laid a solid foundation for trade promotion activities and international economic cooperation around the world in the second half of the 20th century. After returning home， the Chinese delegation to the Moscow International Economic Conference responded to the initiative and submitted a report to the Central Peoples Government Administration Council， proposing the establishment of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

With the support of Mao Zedong， Zhou Enlai and other CPC and state leaders， the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade was formally established on May 4， 1952. From then on， a bridge was established， providing a way for the Chinese economy and business community to carry out economic and trade cooperation and friendly exchanges with the outside world.

Over last 70 years， the CCPIT has given full play to its role as a bridge between China and the rest of the world， actively promoted friendly communication and economic and trade cooperation between regions and nations， continued to improve trade promotion efficiency and contributed to Chinas diplomacy， the overall foreign trade and economic cooperation and domestic economic and social development， by insisting on serving the overall layout and focusing on the center， taking base in China and open to the world， promoting government and policies to serve the economy in accord with changing domestic and international situation and actual needs at different times.

Connecting the World and Showcasing China

Since the establishment， the CCPIT has been responsible for organizing economic exhibitions abroad and coordinating foreign economic exhibitions in China. In the last 7 decades， from receiving the first foreign exhibitors coming into China， and holding the first overseas exhibition of Chinese economic achievements， to organizing the China Pavilion for the World Expo for the first time and hosting the first World Expo in China， through trade fairs the CCPIT has successfully encouraged the world to know and get into China， while helping Chinese enterprises understand the outside world and venture abroad.

On April 25， 1957， the first China Export Commodities Fair， hosted by the CCPIT， was opened in Guangzhou. This became an important window for the new China to face the world， breaking the Western economic blockade and Chinas political isolation. Premier Zhou Enlai personally set the abbreviated name of the fair， the Canton Fair.

From May 1 to October 31， 1982， the CCPIT， on behalf of the Chinese government， organized the national pavilion for the World Fair for the first time， the Worlds Fair in Knoxville， Tennessee， USA. Many American visitors were greatly interested in visiting the pavilion of China， there was even a queue as long as 1 kilometer， with people waiting for three or four hours in the burning sun.

From November 15 to 30， 1985， the Asia-Pacific International Trade Fair， co-hosted by the CCPIT and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific， was held at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing. It was the first trade fair held in the China World Trade Center after it was built in 1985. In 1993， the CCPIT formed the China International Exhibition Corporation.

From May 1 to October 31， 2010， China successfully held the Expo 2010 Shanghai China. With the theme of “Better City， Better Life”， Expo 2010 was the first comprehensive world exposition held in China， the first registered world exposition held in a developing country， and the largest scale and longest-running international event since the foundation of China. 246 countries and international organizations participated Expo 2010 Shanghai， which received over 73 million visitors in 184 days， setting a new record. The CCPIT played a key role in the bid and preparation and hosting of Expo 2010 Shanghai China.

From April 29 to October 9， 2019， the 2019 Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition （Expo 2019 Beijing） themed “Live Green， Live Better” was held in Yanqing， Beijing. Headed and prepared by the CCPIT， Expo 2019 Beijing made many records in the scale and the number of exhibitors， namely 110 countries and international organizations together with more than 120 non-governmental exhibitors， receiving 9.34 million visitors and holding a total of 3，284 events.

The CCPIT organized the China Pavilion of Expo 2020 Dubai， which was held from October 1， 2021 to March 31， 2022， under the theme of “Connecting Minds， Creating the Future”. It was the first World Expo held in the Middle East.

Promoting Trade and Investment

Over the last 7 decades， from promoting the signing and implementation of the first Sino-Japanese， Sino-British and Sino-French non-governmental trade agreements， to receiving non-governmental trade delegations coming to China for the first time， and to establishing major multi-bilateral institutional brand events， participating in promoting the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road and helping improve trade and investment facilitation， the CCPIT has been making unremitting efforts to boost trade and investment cooperation between China and other countries and regions around the world.

Starting at a new historical point， the CCPIT will continuously boost the modernization of the governance system and capacity of trade promotion， and strive to build a vigorous world-class trade and investment promotion agency with Chinese characteristics， contributing to the building of a great modern socialist country in all aspects and a community of shared future for mankind.

Commercial legal services

Over the past 70 years， from accepting the first economic arbitration case， deputizing the first patent and trademark registration application， carrying out the first maritime mediation， issuing the first certificate of origin and international commercial certificate， to continuously improving the public service system of commercial law， maintaining the leading position in the international arbitration industry， helping enterprises protect and layout overseas intellectual property rights， and establishing and improving the early warning system of economic and trade frictions， the commercial legal services provided by the CCPIT for enterprises are playing an increasingly important role in maintaining international trade order and promoting the development of economy and trade.

On May 6， 1954， the Government Administration Council of the Central Peoples Government adopted the decision on the establishment of the Foreign Trade Arbitration Commission within CCPIT. On November 21， 1958， the State Council of China adopted the decision on the establishment of the Maritime Arbitration Commission within CCPIT. In 1988， it was renamed the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission and the China Maritime Arbitration Commission.

In 1957， with the approval of the State Council， the CCPIT officially handled the business of foreign enterprises applying for trademark registration. In 1984， China Patent Agent （H.K.） Ltd. and the patent agent department of the CCPIT were established. In 1993， the Patent and Trademark Law Office was established.

Participation in global economic governance

In keeping with the historical trend of peaceful development and win-win cooperation， the CCPIT adheres to the principle of joint consultation， construction and sharing， actively organising Chinese business circles to participate in G20 business activities， APEC CEO Summit， Business Advisory Council， BRICs business forum and other multilateral mechanism activities. It also participates in topic discussions， actively expresses concerns and demands， creates Chinas voice， puts forward Chinas plan， gathers the global business consensus， and promotes the development of the global economic governance system in a more just and reasonable direction.

Reform and innovation

The CCPIT adheres to and strengthens the Partys overall leadership， keeps pace with the times， comprehensively deepens reform， comprehensively promotes the reform and development of local and industrial CCPIT， deepens the reform of China Chamber of International Commerce， supports the development of local and industrial chambers of international commerce， expands the global work network， forge a loyal and clean team of high-quality professional cadres and talents， and pool all forces to jointly promote trade promotion.

In 1988， with the approval of the State Council， the CCPIT also used the name of China Chamber of International Commerce to assume the functions of China foreign chamber of commerce. In 1994， with the efforts of the CCPIT， the China Chamber of International Commerce joined the International Chamber of Commerce （ICC）. The China Chamber of International Commerce is an important carrier for the CCPIT to carry out various pieces of work. It is also a National Chamber of Commerce participating in the work of the ICC on behalf of China. When carrying out business related to ICC， it uses the name of ICC China. As of December 2021， the number of members of the China Chamber of International Commerce has reached 301，000， making it one of the most influential foreign-related chamber of commerce organizations in China.

2022 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the CCPIT.

Standing at a new historical starting point， the CCPIT adheres to the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as guidance and to follow the mass development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Based on this new stage of development， the CCPIT implements the new development concept and helps build a new development pattern. With promoting high quality development as the theme and driven by innovation， the CCPIT will keep in mind its mission， continue strengthening trade and investment promotion and commercial legal services， participate in global economic governance and applied think-tank construction， and more.