The China International Import Expo in Shanghai: an opportunity of growth for companies

Even this year, from 5 to 11 November, it was held in Shanghai the China International Import Expo (CIIE), the largest exhibition of foreign companies in China, now in its fourth edition, where new products, which can be potentially interesting for the Chinese market, are showed to the public.

The event represented an important opportunity for companies to present ideas, projects and meet new partners and people, with a strong commercial and political significance, helping to strengthen an open trade policy, aimed at the exchange of goods in a collaborative perspective.

At CIIE, about 3 thousand companies from 127 countries participated this year, with the aim of making their products known, affirming their brand and creating new meetings to strengthen business. The event was held at the National and Convention Center (Shanghai), the largest building and exhibition complex in the world, with a total area of almost 1.5 million square meters.

Italy had an important presence this year, counting about 100 participating companies, on an exhibition area of about 15,000 square meters, under the organization Chamber of Commerce Italian Chinese, Italian Trade Agency (ITA) and Foundation Italy China, with the support of the Italian Trade Agency, as desired by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

Three pavilions are directly managed by the ITA. They were respectively dedicated to the goldsmith-jewelry, medical and environmental technologies, that were designed to allow the participation of companies in key sectors in Chinese consumption. The particular importance of the third pavilion on new environmental technologies is remarkable, since the theme of expansion of green technologies was included by the Chinese government as a priority objective in its fourteenth five-year plan, to improve the industrial level of modernisation and supply.

In addition to the presence of the aforementioned three pavilions, Italy has then distinguished itself in the exhibition event for having created a pavilion of over 100 square meters entirely dedicated to the promotion of Italian cultural heritage, that has the highest number of UNESCO assets in the world, including, for the territory of Abruzzo, the beech forests of the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise.

The opportunity, now on an annual basis, can be an important opportunity for all companies in Abruzzo that want to extend their presence and business in China, which is the fourth trading partner of Italy in the world and the largest in Asia. The event also enjoys a high media resonance, as well as being an opportunity for discussion for the development of new production techniques or cutting-edge technologies.

Among all the companies, those of the wine sector, which are part of the Consortium for the Protection of Wines of Abruzzo, are highly appreciated on the Chinese market and can certainly obtain particular advantages- For this reason, hat according to the latest data, the slots reserved to these realities in the exhibitions have strongly grown due to the increase of demand from Chinese consumers.

In the view of next year’s edition, the participation to this event is highly recommended due to a balance the costs - benefits. This year, the participation in the event was free for a first basic installation of about 12 square meters and saw visits from around 480 thousand visitors.

In short, it is an event not to be missed, which allows Italian companies to present themselves to the world, creating possible networks or receiving important inputs for research and development and be ready for the markets and the challenges of the future.