The First China International Import-Export Expo (CIIE) was inaugurated in Shanghai on November 5, in the presence of leaders from 18 countries participants from 172 countries and regions, and more than 3,600 enterprises from around the world.

In President Xi Jinping’s speech, he conveyed China’s vision for economic globalization by stressing two main points: Supporting opening-up and implementing measures to achieve this goal on a global basis, as well as reflecting on the bright prospects of the country’s development.

What do businesspeople attending the Expo think of the speech and have they achieved their goals in regards to the expo? China Focus interviewed several attendees.

Jay Nibbe

EY Global Vice Chair， UK

President Xi’s speech set a very optimistic tone about the role that China can play in leading the global economy. I thought it was very positive in regards to the role of globalization and the impact of globalization on economic growth, and also signaling China’s willingness to accelerate the opening of its economy as part of a broader vision for helping global economic development.

So I thought that the remarks from president Xi were very powerful in recognizing the goal that China is on its way forward in the global economy. I think it is a positive signal, and it is accelerating China’s opening-up, strengthening the rights of intellectual property, as well as enforcement of protecting such rights. He also said, I think some of the positiveness in regards to investment is not only in the Greater Bay Area, but also in the Yangtze River Delta Area, led by Shanghai, right here, because investment can boost strong imports, which is what this is all about. But it also continues to strengthen export markets, which is about the Belt and Road Initiative as well.

Steve Vermant

Managing Director, Merck Chemicals (Shanghai) Co., Ltd , German

I’m strongly in favor of collaboration with China, because China has a lot of willingness and a lot of small companies and people developing AI. We have been investing in innovation and accelerating our work in China. I’m very happy to have the opportunity to collaborate with these companies.

China is obviously the world’s fastest growing market and it has huge potential in terms of population and growth. In his speech, President Xi created even more excitement by announcing the acceleration of China’s openness and I think that is great.

We benefit from being a global company and I know this global environment in which China has the aim to be a global stakeholder will benefit us with our global network and our global knowledge. I think that’s exactly where exchange can come in to play. We want to grow in China and China wants to grow globally, so it’s a perfect match.

Sandra Dias Dos Santos

Administrator and Member of the Board of Aipex , Angola

I am a representative from a private investment agency. We have close partnerships with many others as part of our business. Therefore, the presentation we will give here is to examine closely what is happening and try to find investors who want to invest in our company, or find markets in which we can sell our products.

It is very inspiring that China is opening its doors to other countries. China is a large country and is willing to give a chance to other countries so they can develop together with China through trade.

Will I come back in the future? That depends on the results this year. We will definitely consider coming back but maybe the expo will grow even larger with more companies. If things go well this time, there will be an even larger delegation next year.

Kevin Xu

CEO of MEBO Life Science Inc. Australia

President Xi’s speech was wonderful because it showed a signal that we want to see an open world, we want to show how we can implement the concept of community with a share future, which is exactly like the future we encounter in the life science industry, because it is not like you can do your research isolated on your own, because you are never going to learn new things. Just like the famous quotes we have heard, if you want to go fast, you go by yourself, but if you want to go further, you go together. That is definitely the right quote to match what president Xi said yesterday.

I think the Expo also shows a way for people to understand Chinese culture which is not only about life and morals. It is about how we use our cultural aspects to establish a platform, the platforms are not made by construction of a mood or a plastic piece, but is instead a construction based on our understanding of the international situation and our social environment.

As part of this Expo we hope to find partners that we can collaborate with in China to do further research on human regeneration, not only companies, but also universities or institutes that do research in this cross-disciplinary field. We hope to collaborate with a wide range of institutions and organizations so we can come up with new breakthroughs.

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Interviewer：Dong Lingyi