Chinese Vice President Han Zheng put forward a three-point proposal on trade and investment facilitation at the opening ceremony of the 26th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) in Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province, on Tuesday.
Han said that China is firmly committed to expanding high-level opening-up and continuing to advance trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.
Noting that the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, he said that the historical trend toward opening up and cooperation will not change.
Under the permanent theme of "further expanding bilateral investment, jointly facilitating global development," the CIFIT has taken on even greater practical significance, Han said, and put forward the three-point proposal.
First, he expected enterprises from around the world to seize the opportunities presented by China's opening-up and development, continuously explore the Chinese market, and constantly create new horizons for win-win cooperation, he said.
Second, he called on joint efforts to build and maintain a global, open innovation ecosystem and accelerate the cultivation of new drivers of innovation-driven growth.
Third, he emphasized the significance to make global industrial and supply chains more stable, smooth, and inclusive, and jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system.
Acting Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Pedro Manuel Moreno, Saudi Arabia's Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim bin Yousef Al-Mubarak, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Adrijana Mesarovic, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, and Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Poulev also addressed the opening ceremony.
Finland's Minister of Economic Affairs Sakari Puisto read out the congratulatory letter from Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.
Prior to the opening ceremony, Han toured the exhibition hall of the fair, and visited the pavilions of guest countries of honor -- Saudi Arabia and Finland, and specialized exhibition zones.
When talking with delegation heads of the guest countries of honor, and representatives of participating exhibitors, he encouraged them to make full use of the platform of the CIFIT, strengthen business negotiations and matchmaking, and deepen two-way investment cooperation.
On Monday afternoon, Han met with representatives of multinational corporations and foreign business associations attending the fair, stressing that economic globalization is unstoppable.
He expressed the hope that multinational corporations should seize the vast opportunities presented by China's enormous market and its development of new quality productive forces, firm up confidence in investing in China, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
Chinese vice president addresses 26th China int'l investment, trade fair
The 26th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) opened in the coastal city of Xiamen in east China's Fujian Province on Tuesday, drawing international exhibitors and delegations to connect global investors with key Chinese markets.
The four-day fair has brought together over 1,200 government agencies and business delegations from 129 countries and regions, which includes 48 of the world's top 50 economies by GDP, while 30 international organizations are also participating.
This year's event marks the biggest ever edition of the long-running trade fair, with the total exhibition space expanding to some 200,000 square meters. It also features 14 specialized exhibition zones, showcasing investment opportunities in various promising sectors including China's "new quality productive forces", an economic strategy which stresses high-tech innovation as a new growth driver, as well as the "Silk Road Maritime" initiative, which looks to resurrect ancient sea trading routes.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Zhou Zuyi, secretary of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, said Fujian will step up efforts to establish new mechanisms for a more open economy.
"We will keep expanding institutional opening-up and actively aligning with high-standard global trade rules. We're seizing the opportunity from the pilot program to expand services trade. We're also upgrading our free trade zones, focusing on tech innovation, green development, and digital economy. All to build a more open economy, faster," Zhou said.
This year's edition has also introduced a "dual guest countries of honor" mechanism for the first time, with Finland and Saudi Arabia jointly assuming the role. Two Chinese guest provinces have also been named, with the southern Guangdong and the northwestern Qinghai Province given the honor. The fair is structured around three core thematic sections, namely "Invest in China," "China's Outbound Investment," and "International Investment," and will also see more than 40 key investment promotion events, along with nearly 100 supporting activities being held.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Pedro Manuel Moreno, the Acting Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), emphasized that increasing investment in key strategic fields is essential, saying the trade fair offers a valuable platform for exchanges.
"Strategic sectors, like AI, semiconductors, critical minerals, or clean energy now account for almost half of the value of all new investment projects. This is why I believe gatherings like CIFIT matter more than ever, because the central challenge today is no longer only to mobilize more capital. It is to connect capital to the right projects, in the right places," he said.
First launched in 1997, the CIFIT, organized by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, has become an important platform for boosting investment and facilitating global development.
Global investors, business leaders gather in Xiamen for int'l investment, trade fair
