Share open opportunities and create a better life

The 4th CICGF debuted many new products, the exhibition scale was larger, and the exhibition was more effective in promoting production - sharing open opportunities and creating a better life

　　At a whisky company's booth in the Irish National Pavilion at the Expo, exhibitors introduce products to visitors.

　　Photo by reporter Cui Qi

　　From April 13th to 18th, the 4th China International Consumer Goods Expo with the theme of "Sharing Open Opportunities and Creating a Better Life" was held in Haikou, Hainan. More than 4,000 brands from 71 countries and regions participated in this year's Expo, demonstrating the vitality and great attractiveness of China's consumer market. Foreign guests and exhibitors interviewed by this reporter said that the CICGF has built a cooperation platform for institutions and enterprises from various countries, demonstrating China's confidence and determination to continue to expand high-level opening up. China's door to opening up is opening wider and wider, and China's large market provides huge opportunities for the world.

　　"It has built an important platform for enterprises from all over the world to enter the Chinese market"

　　As the largest consumer boutique exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region, this year's Consumer Expo has an indoor exhibition area of 128,000 square meters, with 57 Fortune 500 companies and industry leading enterprises signing contracts to participate in the exhibition, and is expected to receive more than 55,000 buyers and professional visitors of all kinds, with continuous improvement in scale, quality, effectiveness and influence. The CICG has become a global gathering place for consumer boutiques and a vane of the consumer market, and a bright business card for the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port.

　　This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, as well as the Year of Culture and Tourism between China and France. With the theme of "60th Anniversary of China and France", the French Pavilion at this year's CICGF provides visitors with an immersive experience as if they were in Paris. Zou Chunyi, Vice President of Danone Greater China, said that over the past 40 years, Danone has benefited from China's open, stable, efficient and convenient business environment. "We believe that China's expansion of high-level opening-up will help foreign companies better share China's investment and growth opportunities, and achieve greater development in an increasingly optimized business environment. Zou Chunyi said.

　　The Consul General of France in Guangzhou, Mr. Forcifer, said that since the first CICGF, French companies have actively participated in it, which is a vivid example of the friendly exchanges between France and China. As can be seen from the French Pavilion at this year's Consumer Expo, French beauty and food brands attach great importance to the development of the Chinese market and have established a good cooperative relationship with Chinese partners, which can promote mutual benefit and win-win results for both parties and help French companies better integrate into the Chinese market. "The excellent performance of French companies in the Chinese market is inseparable from China's efforts to promote high-quality development and opening up to the outside world, and France and China will achieve common progress in the future. Fu Xiwei said.

　　Barn Bazaar, Science and Technology Investment Education Zone, Whiskey Winery...... Walking into the Irish National Pavilion of the Guest of Honor, the design style of the traditional castle and the modern cultural corridor is refreshing. The pavilion brought together 29 Irish exhibitors and institutions, showcasing more than 200 exhibits from more than 50 Irish brands, covering high-end wine, food and dairy products, technology services and other industries. "This year is our first time in China to participate in the fair, and it is great to see the interest of Chinese consumers in our products. Luke McAllister, the head of an Irish whisky company, said, "The CICG has built an important platform for companies from all over the world to enter the Chinese market. At present, many companies have come to us to discuss cooperation, and we look forward to promoting our products to the vast Chinese market through the Expo. ”

　　At the Greenland Global Pavilion booth, 13 featured new products, such as Syrian blown glass products, Mongolian mutton sausages, Pakistani camel skin lamps, South African handmade beads, and Uzbekistan handmade crochet coats, attracted wide attention. "This year is my first time participating in the Expo, bringing handmade scarves, jade ornaments and other products, hoping to show the unique culture of Pakistan to Chinese consumers," said Harpy, head of Pakistan Pak Pak Sen Handmade Carpet Company. "In 2009, Harpy set up a branch in Shanghai, China, and has been rooted in the Chinese market for 15 years. "I am deeply impressed by the development and changes of the Chinese market, and I hope that by participating in international exhibitions such as the Consumer Expo, our products will be more recognized in the Chinese market and have more development opportunities. Harpy said.

　　"Exploring new opportunities in the dynamic Chinese market"

　　Consumption is the main engine of economic growth. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China a few days ago, in the first quarter, China's total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 12 trillion yuan, the per capita service consumption expenditure of residents increased by 12.7% year-on-year, and the contribution rate of consumption to economic growth was 73.7%, which played an important supporting role. This year's CICGF held more than 300 themed activities and special activities, such as global consumer innovation and new product debuts. Among them, the new product launch event with the theme of "Consumer Expo Gathering New Debut Show" brought together 28 well-known international and domestic release entities, and a total of 38 brands brought 115 new products of different styles and series to the show, covering fashion fragrance, high-end food, electronic technology, biotechnology and other fields. The concentrated debut of new products and technologies reflects the continuous optimization and upgrading of China's consumption structure, and China's super-large market has a strong attraction to foreign-funded enterprises.

　　Using spray extraction technology, fully atomized water and detergent are sprayed into the fabric fibers to instantly dissolve deep stains and suck out sewage, and dry quickly after cleaning without leaving any water stains...... This lithium battery fabric cleaning machine is a new product launched by the global cleaning equipment company Kärcher Group in Germany at this Consumer Expo. "China has a very large market and the world's largest middle-income group, which instills confidence in Kärcher's development in China. Ke Ruilin, the relevant person in charge of the German Kärcher Group, said that in recent years, Kärcher has expanded its brand influence through international exhibitions such as the CIIE and the Consumer Expo, and a number of world premiere products have "changed from exhibits to commodities", which has received good market feedback, which is a strong proof of the huge potential of the Chinese market. "China's business environment continues to improve, and Kärcher will continue to invest in the Chinese market unswervingly. Ke Ruilin said.

　　Volkswagen Group of Germany showcased its full-scenario charging solution for the first time at this year's Consumer Expo. "With the help of the Expo, Volkswagen will strengthen its interaction with Chinese consumers and further integrate into the Chinese market. Volkswagen Group (China) Vice President of Sales Zhang Lan said that Volkswagen has just announced the further expansion of its production and innovation center in Hefei, Anhui Province, strengthening its R&D capabilities in China, and accelerating the electrification, digitalization and intelligent transformation of the automotive industry. "We are confident in the development of the Chinese market and will actively cooperate with Chinese high-tech companies to bring more high-quality automotive products to Chinese consumers. ”

　　At this year's CICGF, the Swiss National Pavilion showcased elements such as the Alps, dairy cows and edelweiss in the form of paper cutouts, and 9 exhibitors and 12 brands showcased the development of the Swiss consumer goods industry. "This is a testament to the Swiss brand's commitment to opening up new opportunities in the dynamic Chinese market. Zhou Hongrui, Commercial Counsellor of the Swiss Embassy in China, said that consumption plays an important role in China's economy, China's huge consumer group shows the huge development potential of the Chinese market, and the Consumer Expo provides a valuable platform for global economic and trade cooperation.

　　"It shows China's determination and action to actively embrace the global economy and promote win-win cooperation"

　　As an important platform for the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, over the past four years, the CICG has always adhered to the theme of "openness", bringing confidence to foreign enterprises to invest in China and deepen their cultivation in China, creating good conditions for countries to share the opportunities of the Chinese market, injecting pragmatic impetus into multilateral and bilateral regional cooperation, and demonstrating China's firm determination to continue to expand opening up.

　　At the 2024 China (Hainan) High-end Consumer Goods Development Conference held during the Expo, KPMG, a professional services organization, released the 2024 White Paper on the Hainan Free Trade Port Travel Retail Market, which believes that China's travel retail market is developing rapidly and has become an important growth point for the global travel retail market. Mr Tom Hong Chun, Chairman of KPMG China and Asia Pacific, said the Expo demonstrated China's commitment to institutional opening-up. Hainan is becoming an important window for China's opening up to the outside world, providing a steady stream of impetus for the development of new productive forces.

　　The Ambassador of Ireland to China, Andrew Anderson, said that as the guest of honour at this year's Consumer Expo, Ireland hopes to let the Chinese market know about the high-quality consumer goods of Irish companies through the platform of the Expo, and expects more Chinese companies to pay attention to Ireland's trade, tourism, education and investment fields. "We believe that China has good development prospects and hope to continue to strengthen trade, investment and economic ties with China. Ann Devan said.

　　Thailand's Tencel Group, which has been rooted in the Chinese market for more than 30 years, has participated in the Consumer Expo for the fourth time with a variety of first-launched products. Xu Xinxiong, CEO of Tencel Group, said that as a large-scale international exhibition, the CICG provides an important platform for foreign-funded enterprises to integrate into China's economic development. "Participating in the exhibition for four consecutive years, we deeply feel the surging vitality and development opportunities of the Chinese market. Tencel Group will continue to expand its business in China and bring more high-quality and innovative products. ”

　　At this year's Consumer Expo, more than 100 Sino-European geographical indication products such as French champagne and Spanish Esteba olive oil were unveiled, and visitors could taste high-quality products with different flavors and different food cultures on the spot. "We hope to use the platform of the Expo to promote Spanish products to the Chinese market. Jamie Lorenzo, Economic and Commercial Consul of the Spanish Consulate in Guangzhou, said that Spain-China relations have maintained a good momentum of development, and the cooperation and friendship between the two countries have continued to deepen, and he hopes to further deepen bilateral economic and trade relations.

　　"China continues to release positive signals to increase efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment, continues to launch measures to steadily expand institutional opening-up, and further promotes the expansion of high-level opening-up, which will create a market-oriented, law-based and international business environment for the development of foreign investment in China, and demonstrate China's determination and action to actively embrace the global economy and promote win-win cooperation. Chen Kai, the relevant person in charge of Ernst & Young Group, said that he believes that foreign-funded enterprises in China will maintain a high-quality development trend this year.

　　(Reporter Wang Ke, Yi Xiao, Zhao Mengyang, and Cao Wenxuan participated in the writing)