Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 30th Summary: Overseas people look forward to sharing opportunities in service trade
Xinhua News Agency reporter
The 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) will be held in Beijing from August 31 to September 5. Overseas political and business people, experts and scholars generally believe that China’s hosting of the Service Trade Fair provides business opportunities for companies from all over the world, builds a platform for service trade practitioners to communicate with each other and gain new partners, and also reflects China’s determination to adhere to a high level of openness. China’s opening to the outside world has benefited people from all over the world and is conducive to jointly promoting the recovery and growth of the world economy.
Linking the market to convey confidence
The Service Trade Fair is the world‘s first comprehensive exhibition in the field of service trade and a leading exhibition in the field of service trade in China. Overseas observers believe that since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, China has held service trade fairs as scheduled, creating new opportunities for the development of global service trade and boosting confidence in the recovery and development of the world economy.
Cai Weicai, senior vice president of Kasikorn Bank, said that as an international exhibition focusing on service trade, the holding of the Service Trade Fair provides a rare trading platform for global service trade, which is of great significance for driving the growth of service trade and linking domestic and international markets. Trade in services has played a very positive role in promoting it.
James Lawrenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute, said that China’s continuous hosting of the Service Trade Fair reflects that China has become a major player in the global service trade industry. China’s participation in global services trade is critical to Australia.
Abu Bakr Dib, consultant of the Egyptian Arab Studies Center and an expert in international relations and political economy, said that the world is currently facing multiple difficulties, and economic development, trade flows, and supply chains have been impacted. The service trade held in China will boost China’s opening-up process.
Outstanding Achievement in “China Service”
Service trade is an important part of international trade and an important area of international economic and trade cooperation. In the first half of this year, despite the severe and complex external environment, China’s service trade still delivered a dazzling report card. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, in the first half of the year, China’s total import and export of services reached 2,891.09 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.6%. Overseas observers believe that the international competitiveness of “Chinese services” is being further enhanced.
Lu Yaoqun, director of the Institute of Governance and Sustainable Development at the National University of Singapore Business School, said that in the first half of the year, China’s trade in services overcame the impact of the unfavorable external environment and achieved better-than-expected results, reflecting the fundamental strength of the national economic system.
Kavans Adhill, a Kenyan international studies scholar, said that the role of service trade in economic growth is becoming more and more evident in both developing and developed countries. China’s economic growth has the potential to promote and accelerate the recovery of the global economy, and it will also inject strong impetus into China-Africa economic cooperation.
Stephen Perry, chairman of the 48 Group Club in the UK, said that China’s foreign trade has grown strongly in the past few decades, and the rapid development of the service industry is one of the key drivers. Today, China is one of the most advanced countries in the service industry in the world. The employment of the service industry accounts for a high proportion, and the industry-related topics continue to be hot. The service industry is also the main employment direction for young people.
Continuously open and share dividends
The Service Trade Fair, the China International Import Expo, the Canton Fair, the Consumer Fair… China has built a series of open cooperation platforms to share opportunities with the world and work together to create a better future. Overseas observers believe that China is an active advocate of promoting openness and cooperation and achieving common development, and it is also a firm actor. China’s opening-up measures will bring more dividends.
Liu Ziyang, a professor at Gyeonggi University in South Korea, said that today’s world is an open world, open cooperation conforms to the historical trend, and mutual benefit and win-win results are the aspirations of the people.
Raquel Leon de la Rosa, an expert on China issues at the Universidad Autónoma de la Mer of Puebla, Mexico, said that China is raising the level of opening up to the outside world through exhibitions and helping companies better capture the vast opportunities in the Chinese market. High-quality service trade products from Mexico and other countries can enter the Chinese market through the Service Trade Fair.
Saudi Ajlan Brothers Holding Group will make its debut at the Service Trade Fair this year. Mohammad al-Ajilan, vice chairman of the group, said that in the context of the continuous deepening of the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative and Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030”, the group looks forward to becoming a bridge for more Chinese enterprises to enter the Middle East and North Africa region. To jointly promote the in-depth development of bilateral economic and trade relations between China and Saudi Arabia, win-win future opportunities and share development dividends.