This year's CIIE will set up this section for the first time, and the paintings of Monet, Chagall and Zhang Daqian will come

The Fourth China International Import Expo will set up a cultural relics and artworks section for the first time, and 20 overseas institutions from 11 countries and regions such as the United Kingdom and Spain have confirmed their participation in the exhibition, with a total of 178 exhibits declared and a total declared value of 2.35 billion yuan. Christie's, Sotheby's, Fulnis and other important auction houses in the world participated in the exhibition for the first time, and foreign art institutions such as Heyi Art, which entered the Chinese market for the first time this year, also brought heavyweight international artists to the exhibition.

At the Shanghai International Art Bonded Service Center located in the Waigaoqiao Bonded Area of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, a number of cultural relics and art exhibits ready to participate in the Expo today passed the inspection of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism (Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Cultural Heritage) and the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone Customs, including four cultural relics-level paintings and sculptures by Sotheby's, which were written by Chinese and foreign art masters Claude Monet, Alberto Giacometti, Mark Chagall and Zhang Daqian.

Institutional innovation amplifies the function of people-to-people exchanges

During the third CIIE last year, a breakthrough was made in the policy of duty-free entry of cultural relics within 5 pieces of exhibits. On this basis, this year's CIIE for the first time in the service trade exhibition area to create a cultural relics and artworks sector, so that this high gold content, high value-added industry, in the Expo platform to achieve higher value, release more energy.

"The display and sales of cultural relics and artworks at this year's Expo will be greatly improved compared with the previous one." Li Jing, deputy director of the Cultural Relics Department of the Municipal Bureau of Cultural Heritage, introduced that with the support of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Shanghai has further simplified the approval procedure for the extension of the temporary entry of cultural relics and implemented the "June × N" system for the temporary entry of cultural relics in the only free trade zone in the country. This institutional innovation breaks the time limit for the temporary entry of cultural relics, which can be extended N times after the 6-month validity period, and once the exhibits are traded, there is enough time to complete the relevant procedures. The continuous landing of more pilot measures for the comprehensive reform of social cultural relics management is also conducive to further amplifying the spillover effect and people-to-people exchange functions of the Expo, and creating sales growth points and new highlights for the Expo.

Yang Jun, deputy director of Sotheby's, told reporters: "The artworks exhibited at the Expo can be directly contacted and traded on the spot, which is equivalent to providing domestic collectors with a collection channel other than auction, and can also help us explore more commercial possibilities in the Chinese market." At the same time, CIIE has become a direct window for multinational enterprises to introduce high-quality products and services to Chinese consumers, and we hope to promote global cultural exchanges and interaction by bringing more museum-level works to domestic visitors. ”

"Affected by the epidemic, it is not easy to bring 10 top works of art from the UK to Shanghai, but we cherish the opportunity to participate in the Expo." Zheng Yan, head of the Chinese region of Heyi, an art institution from the United Kingdom, is entering the Chinese market for the first time, and looks forward to using this high-end platform to communicate face-to-face with domestic audiences and reach more domestic art institutions and artists.

Promote the effective integration of cultural resources with the Expo

Under the guidance and support of China International Import Expo Bureau, Shanghai Customs, Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism (Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Cultural Heritage), Shanghai Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone Customs and other departments, the Waigaoqiao Bonded Area of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone actively assists the cultural relics and artworks sector to carry out exhibition, customs clearance, logistics, warehousing and other work.

Auction houses and art institutions participating in the Expo can enjoy the one-stop service of the whole chain of cultural relics and artworks circulation provided by the Shanghai International Art Bonded Service Center, including the whole process of entry and exit channel services, booth construction, dismantling of exhibitions and import taxation agent settlement, etc., and the "5 pieces of tax exemption" policy is actively implemented by the Pilot Free Trade Zone; cultural relics and artworks that have not been traded during the exhibition period can also obtain bonded warehousing, display and trading services after the exhibition.

At present, the cultural and artistic works of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone have formed the fastest, most efficient and most comprehensive industrial chain entry and exit channels for cultural relics and artworks in the country, and the customs clearance speed and customs clearance quality are first-class in China. Hu Huanzhong, deputy general manager of Waigaoqiao Group Co., Ltd., said that it will help the cultural sector of the new expo service trade exhibition area, promote the effective integration of the rich cultural trade industry resources of the pilot free trade zone with the world-class stage of the expo, and play a greater social benefit and leading role.

Author: Tang Weijie

Photo: Zheng Feng

EDIT: Zhu Yue