/ world today news/ This year, as is known, marks the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the largest geo-economic project in human history – the “One Belt, One Road” announced by Xi Jinping. On this occasion, a good indicator of China’s relations with the world, especially against the background of speculation and unsubstantiated claims that the Chinese economy is in serious trouble and the West should “reduce risk” by separating from the PRC, can be the International Import Expo, which currently taking place in the East Asian country.
The Sixth International Import Expo has become a major platform for China’s opening up, a kind of window for the country to the world and the rest of humanity to the PRC. According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the expo will strengthen partnerships with other countries and lead to positive and win-win results for all (it is worth adding here once again that China’s philosophy of mutual benefit is diametrically opposed to that preached by some hawks in the US idea of a “zero-sum game”).
There are already very concrete results from the Sixth International Import Exhibition. According to experts, it helps state-owned companies to better cooperate with foreign firms in key areas such as technology, development of the global logistics chain, promoting vitality in the nation’s economic growth and other strategic areas. Guo Ping, vice chairman of the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said that China is creating more favorable conditions to promote high-quality opening up.
According to him, the exhibition has shown and established itself as a driving force for state assets and their interaction with global partners, in order to guarantee the stability of the logistics chains (which, as we know, was disrupted due to the Covid pandemic, and also along with the geopolitical upheavals and confrontations, started by those still living in the Cold War).
The Chinese government, experts say, is fully prepared to provide the necessary resources to innovate and create a more open, inclusive and vibrant innovation ecosystem, with the International Import Expo serving as a compass to point the way in this regard. Such an approach aims at opening the innovation potential and further developing the successes.
At this year’s International Export Fair, major deals for cooperation or sales have already been concluded between the Chinese “China Petroleum and Chemical Corp”, the China Energy Investment Group, the COFCO Group and the State Development and Investment Corporation (SDIC) on the one hand with, on the other country, the foreign “Qatar Energy”, the colossal “Saudi Aramco”, “Kuwait Petroleum”, Vitol Group, “Dow Chemical” and Cargill.
These are not small agreements, but large-scale and wide-spectrum deals, the consequences of which will be felt economically and geo-economically throughout the world, or at least throughout Asia. For example, China’s State Development and Investment Corporation has entered into prospective agreements worth $1.06 billion with 18 countries in areas such as raw materials and materials for textiles, grain production, oil and minerals.
The conglomerate “Sinochem Holding Corp” has signed agreements for 13.5 billion dollars with more than 30 customers from ten countries, including Argentina, Ethiopia, France, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Japan. And all this, let’s emphasize, only at the import exhibition, i.e. at a single event! Their agreements relate, of course, to the sphere of petroleum products, but also food and agricultural produce, chemicals, production equipment and, curiously, the service sector.
Sinochem’s subsidiary companies, including Syngenta Group, Adiseo and last but not least, the famous KraussMaffei, also showed their latest products, technologies and services in areas such as animal feed and food, chemical materials and agricultural production in general. These companies have signed multiple agreements for which the projected profits are estimated at more than $1.9 billion. And again, this is only within the framework of the International Import Expo.
KraussMaffei CEO Li Yong said that thanks to the exhibition, the company can better understand the needs of its customers and continue to create innovations and, accordingly, high-quality products, services and solutions for the huge Chinese market.
These facts show that the International Import Expo is not just a sinecure or casion event with loose business delegations and bureaucracy, but a real window of the world to China and vice versa. Recent developments in the exhibition show that it is oriented towards concrete practical results that bring added value to all involved.
Another important point is that the International Import Expo shows that despite the attempts of some hawks in Washington to separate Europe from China, it is not working. Economic, business and even political ties between the two extreme and most economically active parts of Eurasia continue to deepen and intensify. Specific deals between Chinese and European companies are also concluded at the exhibition, and Europeans have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Chinese economic miracle.
“I think that the Chinese market will grow very quickly if we compare it with other countries, and there is a huge potential for importers to find customers here,” said for example the founder of BlueTouch Export, Marek Viskocil, representing a modern and promising Czech business.
“I expect that we will meet more people again, and maybe people who want to buy our wines from the warehouses we have in China,” said the Czech business representative.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic also stated that the International Import Expo is “a very good opportunity for further consolidation and deepening of Serbian-Chinese relations”.
According to her, Belgrade will be more than happy to work with China to build a “comprehensive, strategic and modern iron friendship”.
Another representative of business circles in Europe – Donna Chen from the London-based cosmetics company DC Beauty Group said that the International Import Exhibition offers good opportunities to advertise brands and use all valuable channels. According to her, thanks to the exhibition, their company will connect with even more suppliers and customers.
“The International Import Expo, with the unique goal of attracting imports to China from all over the world, has become more and more attractive to global manufacturers, thus leading to many deals and agreements that are mutually beneficial for all participants,” Professor also stated Franjo Maletic from Croatia.
According to him, today there is not a single serious country that is not excited and interested in the Chinese market, which is why the exhibition is becoming more and more important for business. We should add here that the above-mentioned quotes show that, first of all, the exhibition is important for business in Europe, which needs the Chinese markets in these difficult and turbulent times, when the Old Continent is losing other markets and also access to cheap energy resources and its previous competitive advantages. But the giant Chinese market still seeks and appreciates European high-quality goods, and this gives new prospects and hopes for both countries.
And finally, since we are talking about the tenth anniversary of “One Belt, One Road”, what is more key to the project than boosting the trade turnover between China and Europe? From a geo-economic and geo-strategic point of view, the initiative allows China and Europe to connect more easily, quickly and independently from malicious third parties, and contacts between them help and contribute not only to the enrichment of their own countries and citizens, but also for the promotion of peace and understanding throughout Eurasia.
Therefore, we cannot separate the International Import Expo from the overall perspective of the Belt and Road Initiative, which is strengthening trade-economic and infrastructure links across Eurasia, Africa and the Pacific. Thanks to the exhibition, European companies have access to the vast Chinese market, and thanks to the projects under the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Europe already has a well-developed transport communication and connection with China.
The perspective of such events is more than favorable and will contribute to the promotion not only of better business relations, but also against the background of global geopolitical confrontation, of more political and intercultural dialogue leading to peace and understanding on the international stage. We can hope that there will be a strong Bulgarian participation at the next International Import Exhibition, because both Europe in general and Bulgaria in particular have something to offer the vast and increasingly complex Chinese market.
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