Entrepreneurs and officials from around the world have gathered for the 26th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) which opened on Tuesday in the coastal city of Xiamen of east China's Fujian Province.
The four-day fair has brought together over 1,200 government agencies and business delegations from 129 countries and regions, including 48 of the world's top 50 economies by GDP.
The event is themed around expanding two-way investment and promoting global development and is structured around three pillars — "Invest in China," "China's Outbound Investment" and "International Investment" — and has for the first time named dual guest countries of honor, Finland and Saudi Arabia.
Finland's Minister of Economic Affairs Sakari Puisto came to Xiamen to make the case that Finnish industrial expertise and China's market scale are a natural fit, saying he believes there are abundant opportunities ahead.
"We had in total more than 10 billion euros of investments in China by Finnish companies, 12 billion [euros]. So that's quite substantial. China has been developing very fast, and our companies have world-class expertise in sustainability, advanced industrial solutions, and advanced manufacturing. By combining that expertise and top quality with the scale of China and the quality of Chinese companies, I think we will have lots of collaborative opportunities for the future," he said.
Morten Wierod, President and CEO of ABB, a global technology company specializing in electrification and automation, stressed the importance of showing up in person in order to keep pace with China's development.
"For me, coming here and looking at China is really a long-term play. It's about understanding the local environment, and what is changing. Because China is (developing) so fast, you have to be here on a regular basis," he said.
As the trade fair continues to grow in scale, both the size of the dedicated financial exhibition area and the number of financial exhibitors have doubled from last year.
A special zone for China's CIPS (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System) makes its debut at this year's event, alongside a new area for 'new quality productive forces', which will showcase the latest high-tech innovations, including in frontier areas such as artificial intelligence.
More than 40 key investment promotion events will be held during the fair, along with nearly 100 supporting activities including capital matchmaking and roadshows. Among these is the "Cloud CIFIT" platform, which pools investment projects, corporate financing and industrial funds, making project and capital matching faster through digital tools.
First launched in 1997, the CIFIT, organized by the Ministry of Commerce, has become an important platform for boosting investment and facilitating global development.
Global investors gather for Xiamen fair with focus on two-way investment
Foreign ministers from 12 countries moved on Tuesday to tighten restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as mounting settlement expansion and violence fuel growing concerns over the viability of a two-state solution.
Foreign ministers from Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Britain said in a joint statement that they intended to introduce tighter restrictions on businesses or entities that operate in, or support, settlements, which are illegal under international law.
The ministers said the situation in the West Bank was "rapidly deteriorating" amid what they described as unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion.
Among the 12 countries, Britain, France and Canada said they would bring forward national measures to ban trade in goods produced in settlements, while welcoming steps already taken by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium.
Britain on Tuesday announced some of the most detailed measures so far. Speaking in the House of Commons, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Britain would introduce a ban on imports of goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
He said that Britain would also establish a new sanctions regime targeting specific companies and individuals providing construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate services that contribute to settlement expansion. Advertising in Britain for property in Israeli settlements would also be prohibited.
The Palestinian Presidency on Tuesday welcomed Britain's decision, while calling for additional and binding international action to halt Israeli settlement expansion, stop settlers' crimes, and hold those responsible accountable.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X that France would "end trade" with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, adding that France could not, through its trade, support a situation that threatened Israelis, Palestinians and regional stability. He also urged the European Union to adopt the same approach.
Some European countries have already been moving in a similar direction.
Spain has already prohibited imports of goods produced in settlements and related commercial advertising. Belgium has decided to introduce an import ban after approving draft rules in July under which permits for goods originating from Israeli settlements would be refused. Ireland has approved draft legislation to ban imports of goods produced in settlement.
The Netherlands has adopted a national ban on the import, purchase and sale of goods from settlements, which will take effect on Sept. 22, while Norway has put proposed legislation banning imports from and exports to settlements out for public consultation.
The EU has also stepped up sanctions against extremist Israeli settlers. On May 28, it sanctioned four entities and three individuals over serious human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank. The measures include asset freezes, funding bans and travel restrictions. The bloc, however, has yet to impose an EU-wide ban on trade with Israeli settlements.
The latest push for tougher measures followed Israel issuing a tender in August for 1,234 housing units in the E1 settlement project in the West Bank.
According to the tender published online by Israel's Ministry of Construction and Housing, the project is part of a broader plan to build 3,401 housing units in the E1 area east of Jerusalem.
The 12 foreign ministers said the E1 decision was among the developments undermining prospects for a Palestinian state and called on the Israeli government to immediately halt settlement expansion and ensure accountability for settler violence.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog criticized the planned British move on Tuesday, calling the sanctions a "grave miscalculation."
The 12 ministers also reiterated their condemnation of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and recognized Israel's legitimate security interests.
They reaffirmed support for a two-state solution under which Israel and a sovereign, democratic and viable Palestinian state would live side by side in peace and security within internationally recognized borders.
Twelve countries move toward tighter trade curbs on Israeli settlements
