CIIE introduces higher-end products and services to China, accelerates consumption upgrading

The 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) provides a platform for global enterprises to satisfy the rising demand of Chinese consumers with new technologies and products purchased at the expo.

REFIRE, a provider of commercialized zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell technologies headquartered in Shanghai, unveiled a hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck at the CIIE. According to Lin Qi, CEO of REFIRE, the vehicle can travel nearly 1,000 kilometers on a single charge, which takes just 10 minutes.

People visit the booth for Danish toy giant LEGO Group at the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. (People’s Daily Overseas Edition/Qiu Haifeng)

“Through the CIIE, we hope to provide high-quality, reliable and green solutions to global clients and satisfy their need for green consumption,” said Lin.

Karcher, a German cleaning systems provider, unveiled a third-generation cleaning product named KIRAB 50. “In developing and manufacturing the product, we cooperated with a top visual navigation company in China. The cleaning product was exclusively developed for Chinese consumers,” said an executive from Karcher.

French beauty giant L’Oreal Group displayed Perso, a personalized lipstick at this year’s CIIE. Powered by artificial intelligence, Perso allows consumers to create their own lipsticks. Fabrice Megarbane, president of L'Oreal North Asia Zone and CEO of L'Oreal China, said that new consumption trends are tending towards personalization. “Technologies allow us to build a bridge between consumers and the products they want to buy, and thus tapping into new consumption potential,” Fabrice Megarbane explained.

Furniture seller IKEA rolled out a line of products themed on the Chinese New Year, such as cushions featuring the tiger to mark the Chinese Lunar New Year in 2022, and placemats featuring peony flowers. In an exclusive interview with People’s Daily Overseas Edition, Sven Rau, vice president of IKEA’s retail business in China, expressed that China is one of the most important markets for IKEA. While pursuing common development alongside China, IKEA is also witnessing the inheritance and innovation of Chinese culture, consumption and lifestyle.

In less than one hour after the opening of the enterprise and business exhibition at the CIIE, Shanghai sealed its first deal, which involves a procurement order worth $700 million. Later, a deal worth $70 million was signed between Shandong Zhongke Electric Power Co based in Jinan and Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas. Enterprises from other province, including Henan, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Zhejiang and Anhui, also signed deals for the purchase of commodities at the CIIE.

Visitors look over a new energy race car produced by Apollo displayed at the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. (People’s Daily Overseas Edition/Qiu Haifeng)

On Nov. 7, New Zealand’s largest dairy company Fonterra unveiled a milk product at the CIIE and signed a tripartite strategic cooperation agreement with Hema Fresh of Alibaba and the cross-border logistics business of China Southern Airlines, turning the exhibit into a product. Currently, the milk is available at Hema Fresh supermarkets in Shanghai and Hangzhou. “Over the past year, our direct purchase from overseas increased by nearly 50 percent,” said Xiao Lu, general manager of commodity branding at Hema Fresh.

At the CIIE, Baidu Health signed a memorandum of cooperation with GlaxoSmithKline to develop a digital model for promoting disease education and prevention. The two parties will work together to carry out disease knowledge popularization and improve prevention concepts. “We hope to raise the awareness of disease prevention among middle-aged and the elderly population through our cooperation,” said Yang Minglu, general manager of Baidu Health.

China’s sales of consumer goods jumped from 20.6 trillion yuan (about $3.18 trillion) in 2012 to 39.2 trillion yuan last year, with the country becoming the second largest consumer market in the world over the course of eight years, said China’s Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen.

“Over the years, we actively conformed to the trend of consumption upgrading, and connected the domestic and international markets by pursuing opening-up at a higher level, and pushed for steady and healthy development of consumption. It’s fair to say that consumption has strongly supported economic growth and served as a powerful driving force for global economic recovery,” Wang said.