CIIE embraces multilateralism to boost world economy
An Italian chef presents a special cuisine in the Food and Agricultural Products exhibition area during the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. Photo: Cai Yang /XINHUA
The second China International Import Expo (CIIE) took place in Shanghai Nov. 5–10.
Speaking at its opening ceremony, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country is committed to opening up at an even higher level.
“The country will continue to lower tariffs and institutional transaction costs, develop demonstration zones to promote import trade by creative means, and import more high-quality goods and services from around the world,” Xi said.
Xi stressed the need to dismantle trade barriers and stand firm against protectionism and unilateralism, calling on countries to “tear down walls, not to erect walls.”
China is an advocate of international cooperation and a supporter of multilateralism. At a time when some countries are closing doors, China is opening its doors even wider.
Qin Yaqing, executive vice president of the China National Association for International Studies, said that while anti-globalization sentiment and anti-multilateralism may intensify, globalization will continue. This wave of anti-globalization indicates the necessity to reform existing institutions and the need for new and more effective multilateralism. To achieve that goal, the international community must re-establish consensus.
John Kirton, co-director of the G20 Research Group at the University of Toronto in Canada, said China can help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by playing a leading role in the G20 and ensuring that globalization brings tangible benefits to every member of the international community.
Wang Qin, a research fellow from the Institute of Industrial Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that hosting the CIIE is not only of global significance, but also of importance to China’s own industrial transformation and development.
Through the display of new international technologies, products and services, the expo can stimulate Chinese enterprises to accelerate innovation.
The expo has given foreign enterprises access to China’s vast market and provided an opportunity for Chinese and foreign enterprises to interact positively in the technology, capital and market aspects of industrial development, thereby promoting high-quality industrial development, Wang continued.
In addition, the expo is conducive to the exchange of information and cooperation between Chinese and foreign enterprises in the upper and lower reaches of the industrial chain, encouraging Chinese enterprises to improve and upgrade the chain.
Wang Jian, director of the Institute of International Studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that the continuing development of globalization faces a lack of infrastructure, and the implementation of the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative is an important step to promote global infrastructure construction. It is necessary to guide B&R cooperation with the green concept, make the best use of green finance and build an international platform to support green finance.
Moreover, Wang Jian suggested co-building a good business environment, encouraging enterprises to operate in strict compliance and promoting international anti-corruption cooperation.
edited by JIANG HONG