First CICPE concludes, injecting new vitality into global economic recovery

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(Xinhua) 08:36, May 11, 2021

-- The first China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) concluded on Monday in Haikou, the capital of south China's Hainan Province, with the participation of 1,505 enterprises from 70 countries and regions.

-- As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage and the world economy drags on, the CICPE has provided a new platform for global enterprises to tap into the Chinese market and inject new growth momentum into the global economic recovery.

-- The expo will become a new growth driver of Hainan's high-quality development. It will not only facilitate international brands to enter the Chinese market but also domestic brands to go global.

HAIKOU, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The first China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) concluded on Monday in Haikou, the capital of south China's Hainan Province.

A total of 70 countries and regions attended the four-day expo, and 2,628 brands under 1,505 enterprises from home and abroad participated in the exhibitions. Covering 80,000 square meters, the expo also attracted more than 240,000 visitors.

Major e-commerce platforms including JD Worldwide and Tmall Global also joined the expo with global brands. Livestreaming rooms garnered over 16 million viewers, with a total turnover of 68 million yuan (about 10.4 million U.S. dollars), said Han Shengjian, director of the Hainan bureau of international economic development.

People select goods at the first China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, May 10, 2021. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

The first group of companies from sectors including fashion, life services, travel services, service consumption, food, health products and jewelry have already signed up for the second CICPE. Over 80 percent of exhibitors this year expressed willingness to participate in the second CICPE.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging and the world economy continuing to drag, the expo has provided a new platform for global enterprises to share the development opportunities brought by the Chinese market and inject new growth momentum into global economic recovery.

NEW PLATFORM

U.S. luxury fashion company Tapestry was in the first group of enterprises to sign up for the second China International Consumer Products Expo on Monday.

"We released several new products at the expo and visitors were very interested. We have seen the huge potential of the Chinese market," said Zhou Guanghua, vice president of Tapestry.

A man takes photos of products in the Fashion Life Exhibition Hall of the first China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, May 7, 2021. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

China was the only major economy in the world to achieve positive growth in 2020, with its GDP up 2.3 percent year on year. According to China's Ministry of Commerce, imports of consumer goods grew 8.2 percent in 2020, reaching 1.57 trillion yuan.

"The expo has brought new opportunities for global high-end brands to enter and expand the Chinese market," said Swiss Ambassador to China Bernardino Regazzoni. "The expo also marks another big step forward in the construction of the Hainan free trade port (FTP) and the acceleration of China's integration into the global economic system."

China in 2018 proposed the establishment of a free trade zone in Hainan and began construction of the Hainan FTP last year to build the island into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.

Hainan has implemented a package of favorable policies to ease market access and further facilitate free trade, investment and cross-border capital flows. According to the provincial government, direct foreign investment in Hainan grew from 340 million U.S. dollars in 2017 to 3.03 billion U.S. dollars in 2020.

"This is our first exhibition in China. We hope to use the platform to enter Hainan's duty-free market and reach cooperation with China's duty-free enterprises," said Chilli Zhou, country sales director of Swiss luxury underwear brand Zimmerli Textil AG.

People visit the Hainan Exhibition Area during the first China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, May 7, 2021.(Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

Official data shows that sales of offshore duty-free shops in Hainan reached nearly 5 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, and the duty-free shopping industry on the island is likely to become a 100-billion-yuan industry in the next few years, insiders said.