Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the third China International Import Expo (CIIE), said to be the world’s biggest trade fair this year amid the global pandemic, on November 4 with a keynote speech delivered by video link that highlighted China’s unwavering commitment to further opening up its market to global businesses, and helping boost global cooperation. Xi elaborated on China’s new development strategies and priorities, and reassured the global business community of China’s continued openness, despite the focus on boosting the domestic economy and indigenous innovation. “As scheduled and confident in the containment protocols that have been put in place, China is hosting this global trade event. It demonstrates China’s sincere desire to share its market opportunities with the world and contribute to global economic recovery,” Xi said, stressing that China’s new “dual circulation” development strategy is not “a development loop behind closed doors, but more open domestic and international circulation.”

The President noted that the Chinese market has the world’s biggest potential, with 1.4 billion people and over 400 million middle-income earners. China is estimated to import USD22 trillion in products in the next 10 years. Under the “dual circulation” strategy, China is seeking to drastically boost the domestic consumer market to ensure long-term sustainable growth free from foreign risks, and an innovation-driven strategy that calls for a breakthrough in core technologies. The CIIE closed its doors on November 10.

China’s new focus on the domestic market signifies more room for imports of high-quality foreign products, and opportunities for foreign businesses. The sentiment of confidence in China’s market potential and opening-up policies were echoed by many foreign businesses attending the CIIE, including those from countries that have souring diplomatic ties with China, such as the U.S. and Australia. “If the first two CIIEs were to show the world opportunities in China, this year’s unchanged ‘CIIE promise’ amid the epidemic is to show the world China’s confidence – confidence in beating the epidemic, in high-quality growth of the Chinese economy, and in sticking to the win-win, open path,” Zhang Jun, President of U.S. medical device maker Boston Scientific Greater China, said in a press release. Boston Scientific is among 196 U.S. businesses attending the CIIE this year, slightly up from last year’s 192 – underscoring the growing interests in China’s market despite some U.S. officials’ call for a decoupling. Also defying diplomatic tensions are about 200 Australian companies attending the Expo, some of them promoting wine and beef – another testament to the attractiveness of the Chinese market, the Global Times reports.

More than 2,700 businesses from over 120 countries and regions are attending the event, despite Covid-19. While the number of exhibitors is slightly down from last year’s 3,000, the exhibition area grew by 30,000 square meters, including the area for Fortune Global 500 companies, which increased by 14%.

The Shanghai Daily reports that the third CIIE has attracted many global brands for the growing Chinese consumption market, as about 13,000 imported items were on display during the event, including hundreds of goods, technologies and services making their global debut. U.S. agribusiness firm Cargill is showcasing a plant-based “meat” product with a texture like chicken and beef, but being vegan. It caters to the growing public awareness to eat less meat. According to Xinhua, plant-based “meat” ranks among the top five most popular items with visitors to the Expo. French yeast manufacturer Lesaffre is introducing a product that helps popularize low-salt food. Chinese consumers are increasingly inclined to eat more low-salt food and its new product can reduce salt content by 30% while adding natural flavors. Topping Xinhua’s list of popular items was the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine that helps Covid-19 patients breathing. All these examples point to a huge pent-up demand in the Chinese market for health-related products and services, the Shanghai Daily reports.

It was also announced that China plans to set up 10 demonstration zones to promote imports, including the Shanghai Hongqiao Central Business District; Jinpu New Area in Dalian, Liaoning province; Yiwu in Zhejiang province; Tianfu New District in Sichuan province, and Xian International Trade and Logistic Park in Shaanxi province. The demonstration zones are intended to support imports, industry and consumption, as well as to boost innovation in trade policy, services and models. Data from the World Trade Organization (WTO) show that China’s imports accounted for 11.3% of the world’s total in the first seven months, up 0.8 percentage point year-on-year, hitting a record high share in global trade.