SCIO briefing on First China International Import Expo

Speakers:
Mr. Fu Ziying, China's international trade representative and vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce

Mr. Wang Bingnan, vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce

Mr. Zhou Bo, executive vice mayor of Shanghai

Chairperson:
Hu Kaihong, spokesperson of the State Council Information Office

Date:
Nov. 2, 2017

Hu Kaihong:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference. At the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in May, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the nation would be hosting the China International Import Expo starting from 2018. Almost half a year has passed since then. Many people have expressed eagerness to know how preparations for the event are proceeding.

To address your needs, we have invited Mr. Fu Ziying, China's international trade representative and the vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce, Mr. Wang Bingnan, also a vice minister of the same ministry, and Mr. Zhou Bo, the executive vice mayor of Shanghai, to introduce the preparations made so far for the First China International Import Expo. They will also answer some of your questions.

I now give the floor to Mr. Fu Ziying.

Fu Ziying:

The Ministry of Commerce takes ensuring the success of the First China International Import Expo as a major political task to implement the guiding principles of the 19th CPC National Congress. Now, let me give you an introduction to the expo.

First, the significance to host the expo.

To host the China International Import Expo is a major strategic deployment and decision of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, focusing on promoting a new round of opening up. It is an important action of the Chinese government in opening up the domestic market to the world, as well as an important embodiment of practicing General Secretary Xi Jinping's proposal for promoting construction of a human community of shared future.

The world economy is currently entering a period of deep adjustment, and the trend of economic globalization is encountering many twists and turns; therefore, the international community has shares a strong desire to see expansion of the Chinese market, get on the express train of China's development and participate in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. China's economy has shifted from the stage of high-speed growth to one of high-quality development. Accelerated adjustment of the economic structure creates stronger demand for commodities and services of high quality and specific features. Against such a background, to hold the China International Import Expo is in line with China's self-development needs and the common development needs of the world.

To host the expo, by opening and sharing the Chinese market, reflects China's willingness to shoulder its responsibility as a major country and is conducive to formation of a demonstration effect so as to promote international trade and achieve greater market opening, give impetus to the further development of economic globalization and the construction of an open world economy, and create conditions for promoting the construction of a human community with a shared future. Moreover, to host the expo will provide strong support for pushing forward a new round of high-level opening up and promoting further construction of the "Belt and Road", which will be conducive to higher-level open economic development and the sustained and healthy development of China's overall economy.

Second, a general introduction about the expo.

The first China International Import Expo is scheduled to be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai from Nov. 5th to 10th, 2018.

The expo will be hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the Shanghai municipal government in partnership with several international institutes, such as the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and organized by China International Import Expo Bureau and the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The venue of the expo covers an area of more than 240,000 square meters, showcasing two exhibitions -- one on national trade and investment and the other on enterprises and commerce.

The former one is dedicated to establishing an open platform for countries at different developmental stages to expand their influence and deepen global economic and trade cooperation.

We plan to invite participating countries to present the general landscape of their trade and investment, including trade in commodities and services, industrial performance, investment, tourism and country-specific specialties. There will be no business transactions conducted at the exhibition.

The business exhibition is divided into two sections: goods trade and services trade. Enterprises from various countries and regions will be invited to exhibit, talk business and clinch deals.

Trade in goods covers six fields, namely smart and high-end equipment, consumer electronics and home appliances, vehicles, garments and consumer goods, food and agricultural products as well as medical devices and health care products. Trade in services covers emerging technology, services outsourcing, innovative design, culture & education, tourism services and other fields.

During the Expo, we will hold the first "Hongqiao international trade forum". The forum consists of the opening ceremony and three parallel forums, where we will invite leaders and ministers of exhibiting countries, heads of international organizations, representatives of domestic and foreign businesses and leading experts and scholars to participate in the forum.

Focused on promoting open, inclusive, beneficial-to-all, balanced and win-win economic globalization and building an open world economy, the forum offers a good platform for the participants to share ideas and make suggestions for boosting global trade and economic growth.

In addition, during the Expo, a series of professional supporting activities will be carried out, including supply and demand matching, industry seminars, product launches, etc., to better promote the matching of exhibitors and professional buyers.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council of China have paid close attention to the preparation of the First China International Import Expo, and have subsequently given approval to establish a preparatory committee for the expo.

Wang Yang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier of the State Council, is the director of the committee. The committee consists of 19 ministries, departments and governments including the Ministry of Commerce, Shanghai Municipal People's Government, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On August 24, Wang presided over the first meeting of the preparatory committee and made a comprehensive preparation plan. The Implementation Plan for the China International Import Expo was approved by the Central leadership at the beginning of October.

The Ministry of Commerce and the Shanghai municipal government are taking several measures to prepare for the First China International Import Expo. Firstly, to make a detailed and clarified plan. We clearly defined responsibilities and administrative rules to coordinate all the supporting tasks. And plans were made in terms of inviting businesses and exhibitors, supporting the forum as well as urban management. A roadmap and timetable have been determined. Secondly, approval has been granted for the establishment of the China International Import Expo Bureau in Shanghai.

Thirdly, to invite exhibitors from across the globe.

We have already sent out invitations to over 200 trade partners around the world. And it is expected that there will be enterprises from more than 100 countries and regions taking part in this expo. Fourthly, to promote this event through various channels. The official website of the China International Import Expo has gone online today. And we will open a section for this expo on the website for the Ministry of Commerce. In order to promote public participation in this undertaking, we will collect submissions for logo designs through the official website and WeChat platform. Overseas promotional efforts will be carried out widely, in a bid to improve international understanding of this event.

Fourth, work plan for the future.

In accordance with the unified arrangements of the Import Expo Preparatory Committee, we will strengthen cooperation and achieve interconnected development in every dimension, striving to build an open cooperative platform where all countries can display their national development achievements and carry out international trade. We also aim to build the expo into an international public good helping promote building of the Belt and Road Initiative as part of the process of economic globalization, put into practice the new development philosophy, and advance a new round of the high-standard opening-up drive.

In the next step, we will go all out to complete the preparatory work and speed up the organization and publicity for inviting businesses, exhibitors and forums. At the same time, we will work out supporting approaches in greater detail to ensure the First China International Import Expo can be held as scheduled and be a great success.

Here, on behalf of the Preparatory Committee Office of China International Import Expo, I would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation for the representatives and guests from various governments, business circles, international organizations and institutions that plan to be present at the expo. We also welcome domestic enterprises to attend the expo for negotiating and purchasing activities. Thank you!

Hu Kaihong:

Thank you, Mr. Fu. Now, Mr. Zhou will brief you about the expo.

Zhou Bo:

I'm very happy to have this opportunity to brief you about Shanghai's preparations and efforts to host the first China International Import Expo. The choice of Shanghai as host city shows the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have full confidence in and give great support to our city. We feel deeply the significance of this task and we are extremely honored.

Shanghai has the necessary foundations, conditions and experience in hosting major international events, conferences and expos, such as the 2010 World Expo, the 2014 CICA Summit, the 2007 Special Olympics and the 2003 APEC Summit. Shanghai is also an efficient and convenient transportation hub. In terms of passenger volume, Shanghai Airport handles more than 100 million trips a year, and ranks fifth in the world. Pudong International Airport is within the top three of the world's airports in handling the import of goods. The container throughput of Port of Shanghai has topped the world for seven consecutive years. Shanghai's rail traffic network also ranks in the world front row along with Beijing.

Of course, Shanghai's urban management of infrastructure facilities, including precision-based urban management, are constantly being improved in accordance with the instructions of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, who said a city should be managed as precisely as "doing embroidery." No matter if it is about eliminating traffic jams or about improving the city landscape, we have achieved effective results.

The Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPC and the Shanghai municipal government attach great importance to this event and are doing preparatory work in the following fields.

Firstly, we have enhanced the organizational and leadership support. We established a special work team involving 36 government departments responsible for issues like commerce, finance, public security, customs and quarantine and inspection. The team is comprised of more than a dozen entities responsible for 16 special issues.

Second, we have stepped up our efforts to ensure a sound environment for city's operation. Take transportation as an example. The event is expected to attract a large number of participants and visitors, and thus will pose challenges for the operation of the city's transportation system. Luckily, Shanghai has good transportation facilities. With the help of information technology, intelligent management, big data, cloud computing and other approaches, our transportation system will run in an even better manner ready for the expo. Besides, we are working hard to build roads near the venue. There will be 13 new roads and several new parking lots. I'm sure transportation will be even more convenient than it is at present. Security is another public concern. We have taken a series of measures and adopted high technology to ensure things are under tight control and so as to eliminate hidden dangers. Our ultimate goal is to ensure the expo can operate in a safe and orderly manner.

Besides, we will ensure all expo participants can have easy access to healthcare services. We will do our best to receive and cater to their needs in an all-round way. We will ensure everything is ready for them, such as the urban environment, and the facilities for power, gas, water supply and sewage, telecommunication, and weather forecasting.

Thirdly, we'll step up with our efforts to provide professional services and all-round support. Although the expo will last for only six days, in accordance with what the Ministry of Commerce has required, we plan to offer all-round, 24 hour service throughout that period, and 365 days after the event ends, via online or offline channels. This is known as "six days plus 365 days" service. We'll continue to make exploration and innovation of the "3.0 version" of the Pilot Free Trade Zone, enhance reform, improve the functions of existing trade exhibition transaction and promotion platforms, and press ahead with alliances in four distinct aspects, namely, the alliance of businesses, the cross-border e-commerce alliance, the alliance of professional services and the alliance of commercial channels. We will provide a year-round online exhibition and open perennial State exhibition halls with services and conveniences that we should try our best to offer.

Hu Kaihong:

Thanks, Mr. Zhou. Now let's open the floor to questions. Please identify your media outlet before asking your question.