Enterprises Alliance has played a key role in growth and success of event since 2018

The 2021 Conference of the CIIE Enterprises Alliance took place on Saturday, with 50 enterprises and institutions having confirmed to attend the fifth CIIE next year.

Established during the 2018 CIIE, the CIIE Enterprises Alliance is a platform initiated by exhibitors in a bid to carry out cooperation, share information and resources, and contribute to promoting trade cooperation between China and other countries.

The first two special committees of the CIIE Enterprises Alliance were established in July 2020, with a main focus on the industries of dairy products and public health and epidemic prevention.

On July 26, a special committee for the medical equipment industry was set up, which included 43 industry-leading players, such as Medtronic, GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers and Boston Scientific.

Currently, there are more than 10 special committees of the expo launched from 2020 onwards. They are from the sectors including agricultural products, home appliances, environmental protection, industrial digital transformation, smart supply chain and daily consumer products.

During the conference, the list of "Tuopu" action star enterprises of the alliance was released as well as the list of members and rotating chairman of the 2022 CIIE Enterprises Alliance.

Wang Bingnan, vice-minister of commerce, attended the event and extended a warm welcome to enterprises participating in the expo at the scene.

He said that it is of great significance to holding the fourth CIIE on schedule, especially amid the current situation with centennial changes and the COVID-19 pandemic happening at the same time.

Since this year, the CIIE has continued to upgrade the function of its four major platforms and attracted the participation of more than 210 enterprises and exhibition organizations in the matchmaking conferences held in Sichuan and Liaoning provinces.

In the face of a complicated domestic and international environment, China's economy has embraced this time period to recover and develop, showcasing strong power for resilience and great development potential. And the international community is optimistic about its growth prospects, Wang said.

This year marks the 20th anniversary that China joined in the WTO. Adhering to the national policy of opening-up, China has fulfilled its commitments through a series of policies to ease market access, expand the scope of foreign investment, optimize the investment environment and promote trade and investment, Wang said.

At present, the exhibition area reserved by the enterprises of the fifth CIIE has exceeded 150,000 square meters, which fully showcases participants' recognition of the CIIE platform and their confidence in the Chinese market.

Since the CIIE Enterprises Alliance's establishment in 2018, the alliance has continuously fulfilled its role in the exhibition, provided valuable suggestions and fulfilled its commitment to expand the CIIE's international influence, Wang said.

It is hoped that its members and overseas exhibition organizations will continue to support the expo, actively participate in its activities, introduce more enterprise partners to participate in the expo, make in-depth communication with local governments via the working formats such as the special committees, and finally expand the effect of the six-day event to a whole year, Wang added.

Sun Chenghai, deputy head of the China International Import Expo Bureau, praised the CIIE Enterprises Alliance and the special committees' work in 2021.

He said that the CIIE Enterprises Alliance is a key factor for the construction of a dual-circulation new development pattern and the member enterprises of CIIE Enterprises Alliance are a major force for the successful holding of the expo. With the increasing influence of the expo, the scale of the alliance has been expanded in 2021 as there are 215 member enterprises from 26 countries and regions signed for the alliance.

To build up a new development pattern around services, Sun noted that there are three highlights in the work of the alliance this year as follows.

First, they have cooperated with local governments and played the role of investment promotion. The alliance organizes exhibitors to work with local governments via a series of promotional activities, which has helped local governments to embrace a high-quality development and better understand the local business environment and grasp investment opportunities.

Second, based on the working format of special committees, they have given full play to the advantages of professional guidance. The number of special committees has currently reached 14, and nearly 50 activities were launched to boost the industrial fusion, accurate matchmaking, innovation-driven development and technical exchanges.

The third is the holding of "Tuopu" action. Encouraged by the action, more than 90 members of the alliance took the lead in signing contracts to participate in the fifth CIIE and more professional visitors and media were invited to participate in the expo.

Deng Jianmin, global senior vice-president of BD Medical, is the chair of the special committee for the medical equipment industry.

"We hope the special committee can become an innovation platform and support more innovative products to enter the Chinese market at a faster pace," Deng said.