CIIE turns international exhibits into commodities

Visitors browse products and take photos at the LEGO booth in the consumer goods exhibition area at the 7th CIIE in Shanghai on November 7, 2024. The exhibition spans over 80,000 square meters, featuring more than 700 companies from more than 70 countries and regions. (Photo: Li Hao/GT)

"Exhibits become commodities" and "commodities become explosions" are among the main functions of the China International Import Expo (CIIE). During the 7th CIIE, held in Shanghai, the expo has become a strong bridge helping a number of international goods enter the vast Chinese market.

Experts noted that the expo has had a spillover effect, which helps optimize the allocation of global resources and promotes the upgrading of the domestic consumption structure.

Enterprises from New Zealand were active participants in the fair. In a livestreaming activity during the expo, a host introduced a number of goodies including fresh milk powder, honey and wine from the country. Through on-site sampling, consumers can taste the unique flavor of New Zealand's food.

About 60 New Zealand companies attended the fair this year. It's very impressive and inspiring to see how China is innovating to reach markets and audiences in a new way via livestreaming, Peter Crisp, CEO of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, said in a report with China Media Group.

Fonterra, the global dairy leader from New Zealand, said it was introducing more than 10 new products, with some products locally innovated to cater to local taste preferences, at the CIIE, according to a statement sent to the Global Times by the company.

"The South African avocado has a rich and creamy taste, with some butter or nutty flavors," anchors from domestic e-commerce platform Tmall said when introducing the South African delicacy to consumers.

This was the first time that South African avocados are being shipped to China, and the crop was a star product of this year's fair. Within 10 minutes, the livestreaming studio completed nearly 1,000 orders. In other words, domestic consumers can already taste the African flavor before this year's CIIE is over.

"The CIIE has always been an important platform for us to launch new sets of products to Chinese consumers, and a great place to invite people of all ages to experience a true LEGO play experience. Since the first session of the fair in 2018, we have launched 29 new products here, including 19 sets inspired by traditional Chinese culture," Paul Huang, a senior vice president of LEGO Group and general manager of LEGO China, said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Sunday.

The fair creates new opportunities for brand building for LEGO, as we are able to introduce and showcase the latest playful experiences to Chinese consumers, Huang noted.

In order to help exhibitors expand in the domestic market, Shanghai has set up a "6 days + 365 days" trading service platform. Through bonded displays and trading and other measures to actively promote the exhibits into commodities, the city has introduced more than 350,000 kinds of exhibits, with imports amounting to more than 450 billion yuan ($62.68 billion), said Zhu Min, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

"Through the expo, Chinese consumers can buy goods from all over the world, and some new emerging approaches, including e-commerce, have further amplified the spillover effect of the fair," Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Wang noted that as a high-level opening platform, the CIIE has continued to introduce global high-quality products into the domestic market, thereby generating multiple "chemical reactions." That is to say, the expo not only helps optimize the allocation of global resources and promote the upgrading of the domestic consumption structure, but also boosts the integration and development of the global industrial, innovation, and value chains.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, the 7th CIIE attracted 3,496 exhibitors from 129 countries and regions. Among all participants, 186 enterprises and institutions have attended all seven sessions of the expo, while many others are new faces exhibiting for the first time.