The 5th China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) officially wrapped up on Friday in Haikou, capital of China's southernmost island province of Hainan, after attracting the participation of a record-breaking 1,767 companies and 4,209 consumer brands from 71 countries and regions, according to a press conference on Friday.
Events targeting global brands, e-commerce and country-specific suppliers led to the signing of 52 intended cooperation agreements, the value of which amounted to approximately 92 billion yuan (about 12.6 billion U.S. dollars), said Zeng Rong, chief economist at the Hainan Provincial Bureau of International Economic Development, at the press conference.
"This year's CICPE has placed greater emphasis on cutting-edge technology fields, with the total area of the consumption technology zone expanding by 30 percent. In particular, the new product launch event gathered 25 well-known domestic and foreign enterprises, where nearly a hundred new products made their debut, further strengthening the role of the CICPE as a barometer of global consumption trends," she said. More than 60,000 professional purchasers attended the six-day event -- representing a 10 percent increase from last year. In tandem with the expo, the Ministry of Commerce also launched the "Shopping in China" campaign to stimulate domestic consumption, and introduced a dedicated exhibition to facilitate cooperation between foreign trade firms and domestic purchasers.
Preparations for the 6th CICPE are underway, with hundreds of companies already registered or signed on to participate in the next edition of this event. "We have always been paying attention to the Chinese market, and we can feel that China is optimizing and upgrading its policies faster than we thought. So we still need to take the CICPE as an opportunity to have matchmaking with Chinese companies," said Lau Kiat Boon, a Singaporean exhibitor.
"We see lots of potential here in China, and particularly, the Chinese people love our products. So that's the reason we are here, we want to build our relationship with China and going forward," said Tom Keightley, a Irish exhibitor.
"We have closed many deals so far. Since the first day, we have received lots of business people that have many [much] interest for us," said John Echenique, a Peruvian exhibitor.
The expo is the only national-level exhibition in China focusing on consumer goods.
5th China Int'l Consumer Products Expo wraps up with record-high scale
Former International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has hailed China's efforts to develop its winter sports industry and encourage mass participation in ice and snow activities as an enduring legacy of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, an event he said has lifted winter sports to a whole new level globally.
Bach, who served as IOC president from 2013 to 2025, was speaking in an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) in the German city of Munich ahead of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, which open on Friday.
As he looks ahead to the Games in Italy, Bach highlighted the huge success of the Beijing Winter Olympics four years ago, both as an international showcase for winter sports but also in leaving a remarkable legacy in China, where over 300 million people -- nearly a quarter of the entire population -- now engage in ice and snow sports.
"Beijing 2022 brought winter sports globally to a new level. You have now more than 350 million Chinese being familiar with winter sports. This is a new world for winter sport globally. So, in many respects, Beijing was setting an example there for new development, for a new world of winter sports. I always said there was a winter sport before Beijing 2022 and there was one -- a much better, a much bigger -- winter sport after Beijing [2022]. And we all could experience this in a very good atmosphere," he said.
Bach, who was unanimously elected as the Honorary President for Life of the IOC in March last year, also hailed how China now has a booming ice and snow economy, with Chinese people being truly passionate about winter sports.
"If you look at the number of winter sport destinations, of ice rinks, of ski lifts, which have been established, that's just amazing. It's just amazing in how the Chinese people have embraced these winter sports and these Olympics. The Chinese people are great Olympic fans -- we are very, very grateful for this -- but that they were not only Olympic fans, that they became winter sports fans. That's really something, something amazing," he said.
As for the upcoming Olympics, Bach said he is looking forward to seeing members of the Chinese team competing alongside the top athletes from around the world, and believes they can replicate their medal success at their home Games four years ago.
"[Coming] back to Beijing [2022], maybe for a moment. A major factor for making Olympic Games, be it Summer or Winter, successful, is always a successful home team, because this is creating the excitement in the country and it's creating a lot of the Olympic atmosphere. I think we can expect the same from our Chinese friends, that they will do well again in Italy. But they should be ready. Italy is the next host country, and they also will do very well. So, when I said, with Beijing we have a new level of winter sports, it means also we have a much tougher competition," said Bach.
The upcoming edition of Winter Olympics will take place from Feb 6 to 22 in the global metropolis of Milan and the Alpine mountain town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, featuring about 2,900 athletes from around the world, with a total of 116 gold medals up for grabs.
Bach hails China for lifting development of global winter sports to new level
