Import expo gears up as China furthers opening-up

MARKET CONFIDENCE

The CIIE shows China's firm commitment to opening up, which has boosted the confidence of many foreign enterprises.

"Despite the uncertainty of the external environment, the CIIE will be held offline as planned. It is this kind of certainty that gives the world even more confidence in China's sure-footedness and determination to grow with its global partners," said Pietro Brambilla, Chief Financial Officer of L'Oreal North Asia Zone & China.

The preference of foreign capital demonstrates the market attractiveness of China. Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce show that foreign direct investment in the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 16.4 percent year on year to 892.74 billion yuan in the first eight months of this year.

China, which has signed 19 free trade agreements with 26 countries and regions, will also ink more free trade agreements with willing partners, and work to enhance the effectiveness of these agreements to benefit businesses and people better and faster, said Shu Jueting, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, at a recent regular media conference.

The CIIE has spawned huge benefits far beyond China's borders, allowing companies to experience solid gains and enjoy tremendous progress, Brambilla noted.

"I believe this is why so many companies, like L'Oreal, are back at the CIIE once again and why more and more new partners have joined us as we begin this exciting countdown to the fifth CIIE," he said.