Interview: CIIE a powerful platform to boost int'l trade, says ITC head

GENEVA, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The China International Import Expo (CIIE) is a "powerful platform" to boost international trade, said Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the International Trade Centre (ITC).

The CIIE is a "phenomenal offering to the world ... especially to the developing world," Coke-Hamilton said during a recent interview with Xinhua.

As an international import expo, the CIIE is "unique" as it offers opportunities for enterprises to showcase their products to Chinese consumers and create connections with Chinese partners and even among the exporters themselves, she said.

In addition, the CIIE enables enterprises from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to enter the Chinese market, as China has been absorbing 26 percent of all exports from LDCs since 2008, "which is huge," Coke-Hamilton said.

One of the key ways to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations is increasing exports from LDCs to promote socioeconomic development, and "the CIIE actually is part of that solution," the ITC chief said.

The CIIE also sends a signal that imports are as important as exports and that inputs and not just final products matter in trade, she said. "Something that CIIE does is to show that international trade is not just about sending out, it's also about taking in, and it's a two-way street, and it's a very powerful signal."

As an official partner of the CIIE, the ITC participates every year in the CIIE, and "we take small businesses to actually show their products," she said.

According to Coke-Hamilton, the ITC has taken 260 companies from 37 developing countries, including least developed countries.

The ITC is taking 66 small businesses to the sixth edition of the CIIE. "We have ice cream from Jamaica. We have baby food and marmalade from Colombia. We have honey from Nepal," she said.

"We're really hoping that this will be a new opportunity to expand their ability to engage and also to increase the possibility for increased exports," she added.

Coke-Hamilton said she is optimistic about China's economic prospects.

The Chinese economy grew 5.2 percent year on year in the first three quarters of 2023, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This figure suggests that China is meeting the growth target and that the stimulus interventions are working. "I think China is in a good space," she said.

China has a huge domestic demand, and "once consumer demand continues to increase, the economy will continue to grow, and there will be continuous trade," she noted.

China has been shifting and moving up the value chain. For example, its electric vehicle industry is developing rapidly, presenting a huge opportunity, she added.

Established in 1964 and headquartered in Geneva, the ITC helps developing and transition economies achieve sustainable human development through exports and supports the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).