Visitors at the China International Fair for Investment and Trade in Xiamen, Fujian Province, on September 8, 2020 (XINHUA)
The Asia Plaza, a residential and commercial building in the Manila Bay Area of the Philippines, is one of the offshoots of the country's participation in the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) last year. With an estimated investment of $77 million, the project started construction in June, introducing 200 new jobs, according to the Philippine News Agency.
The country will be joining CIFIT 2021, set to take place from September 8 to 11 in Xiamen, Fujian Province, as the guest country of honor for the second year in a row. In the last edition, it featured 64 projects worth $1.07 billion. This time, the country aims to further attract investment in the fields of manufacturing, renewable energy and infrastructure.
CIFIT is China's only international investment promotion intended to facilitate trade and investment between Chinese and foreign companies.
While the coronavirus is still battering the global economy, the fair offers an important platform for companies to seek business opportunities. "More than offering a one-stop-shop service for multilateral investment cooperation, CIFIT will help [those seeking new opportunities] select from the widest array of investment projects and business partners from around the world," Ramon M. Lopez, Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, said.
Platform for cooperation
Based on the theme of New Opportunities for International Investment Under New Development Patterns, the upcoming event will revolve around the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) of China, the BRICS Partnership on the New Industrial Revolution, the Belt and Road Initiative, and bilateral and multilateral cooperation, Wang Shouwen, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative, said at a press conference on July 20.
China has become the world's second largest consumer market and the largest trader in goods. After becoming the world's biggest recipient of foreign investment last year, paid-in foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland surged 25.5 percent year on year to more than 672 billion yuan ($100 billion) in the first seven months of this year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
"This year's CIFIT will speak to China's investment environment and contribute to the world's economic recovery and growth," Wang elaborated. During the previous CIFIT, more than 2,300 projects were agreed upon, with a total investment of over $117 billion.
Circling back to 2011, the event's 15th edition saw the participation of all BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—for the first time. Since then, the fair has contributed multiple efforts to strengthening BRICS teamwork.
In 2015, several activities drawing inspiration from the Belt and Road Initiative took place as part of CIFIT, and it has since crafted a platform for cooperation among participating countries and regions.
Later, CIFIT 2016 emerged as a concrete step toward the implementation of the consensus reached during the 11th Summit of the Group of 20 (G20), hosted by China in early September. One of the main objectives there was to reinvigorate the two growth engines of trade and investment to provide a stronger driving force for worldwide economic growth.
Over the years, the fair had become one of the most influential international investment events, making positive contributions to China's reform and opening up as well as the country's socialist modernization, President Xi Jinping said in a congratulatory letter to CIFIT 2018.
Wang said activities such as the Silk Road Maritime International Cooperation Forum and the Belt and Road Development High Caliber Forum are to take place alongside this year's fair. Their goal is to better align various programs under the Belt and Road Initiative as well as encourage greater participation. The occasion will also see the establishment of a BRICS Partnership on the New Industrial Revolution pavilion.
A forum on cross-Taiwan Strait economic and trade cooperation will be held as part of CIFIT 2021, together with a series of activities such as an agricultural products fair, Guo Ningning, Vice Governor of Fujian, said.
Fujian, the Chinese mainland province geographically closest to Taiwan, features roughly 11,000 Taiwan-funded companies and their investment totals over $31 billion. CIFIT has become a bridge and an important strategic platform for the exchanges between the mainland and Taiwan, Guo added.
Major features
CIFIT 2021 will have an exhibition space of 110,000 square meters and host more than 100 activities, according to organizers. More than 800 delegations, 5,000 enterprises and some 100,000 enterprise representatives from 120 countries and regions will attend both online and offline.
The International Investment Forum is expected to feature government officials, renowned economists and representatives from Fortune Global 500 companies sharing their opinions on global trends.
Seminars and panel sessions will also brainstorm on the high-quality development of Chinese enterprises. The fair will publish a report on their overseas presence.
For the first time in its history, CIFIT will convene a conference of representatives from both Chinese and foreign investment promotion agencies. Its agenda also includes an innovation and development conference related to emerging industries, a forum on the improvement of China's business environment, as well as a session on China-U.S. provincial- and state-level green and low-carbon cooperation.
Moreover, a series of project-matchmaking activities will center on new-generation information technology, high-end equipment manufacturing, biotechnology, energy conservation and environmental protection, and the digital economy.
Upgraded online version
Following the 2020 edition, this year's CIFIT will once again be hosted both online and offline, as the COVID-19 pandemic still wields its influence worldwide.
"The online fair has gathered participants from all over China, as well as 38 foreign countries and regions," Chen Haoying, Deputy Director General of the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Commerce and Director General of the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Convention and Exhibition Affairs, said in May. The online platform will display investment environments, industrial information and policies as well as key investment projects, he added.
Further, through the online platform, users anywhere in the world can more easily partake in activities such as exhibitions, live-streaming, consultations and negotiations. It also comes with a customer relationship management system in which the information and business inquiries shared by its users will be collected to create a database to enhance analysis and overall service.
For example, with some Philippine enterprises unable to come to the site due to COVID-19 last year, visitors could scan the QR codes inside the pavilion to learn more about projects and products or step into the negotiating room and talk to people in the Philippines directly via video link.
This year's edition will see a refreshed and optimized online platform that can offer participants one-stop services, based on a wide range of digital implements that include mobile apps, social media and websites, Guo said. Business people and exhibitors can access all information and various services in a fast, convenient and efficient way through any online tools.
With this online version, CIFIT is gearing up to provide year-round exhibition and promotion services that can help boost global investment and trade, Wang concluded.
