Editor's Note: The fourth edition of the annual China International Import Expo in Shanghai has drawn global corporate giants, world trade leaders and up-and-coming stars in business. Industry leaders agree the CIIE will continue to play a vital role in sustaining and boosting ongoing global economic recovery from COVID-19. Here, China Daily presents views of luminaries representing participating MNCs.

Q1: How many times has your company participated in the annual CIIE inaugurated in 2018? Why does the company take part in the CIIE?

Q2: In the context of the ongoing world economic recovery, do you think the CIIE has any added significance?

Q3: China has been striving to increase imports and the country's contribution to global economic recovery has been substantial. Please comment.

Q4: What prospects does your industry have in the China market? Also, what are the prospects for China's consumer market, going forward?

Q5: There is a widely held view that the business environment in China has improved tremendously in recent years. Are you confident it will continue to improve as the country vigorously rolls out higher-level opening-up? If yes, please elaborate.

Josie Zhang, president of Burberry China

A1 We are so pleased to attend the China International Import Expo for the first time in 2021. The CIIE is a strong symbol of China's continued commitment to opening-up, trade liberalization and economic globalization. Burberry has operated in China for nearly three decades and is privileged to have witnessed and been part of the significant changes and growth China has experienced. None of these can be achieved without openness and collaboration. We value the relationships we have been fortunate to build in China, with consumers and with our supply chain, technology and finance partners.

A2 Since its inception, the CIIE has been a great platform for global businesses and partners to strengthen ties, exchange ideas steeped in innovation, and forge lasting relationships with one another. As the world continues to grapple with the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and business, international trade remains a very important impetus for economic recovery. The CIIE represents China's strong commitment and action to opening up its market and increasing imports, all of which are crucial to the world's economic recovery and growth in the COVID-ravaged period.

A3 We were impressed by the speed with which the country rebounded last year from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and equally with the sustained growth we have seen in the months following. We recognize this is a result of China's effective pandemic control measures, as well as the country's dual circulation strategy. We believe these will continue to play an important role in refueling the world's economic recovery and growth.

A4 China's expanding consumer market is one of the world's most important and remains highly dynamic, presenting enormous opportunities for the broader industry. China's commitment to promoting greater digitization, for example, has allowed us to trial new innovations to meet－and exceed－the evolving expectations of local consumers who are incredibly sophisticated and tech-savvy. Last year, we selected Shenzhen as the home of the luxury sector's first social retail store, and we will continue to invest here with the expansion of our store network across China's vibrant cultural hubs. We are also deeply committed to contributing to China by ensuring all of our stores are carbon neutral in line with the nation's climate ambition, and by empowering communities to thrive through various cultural programs.

A5 Since entering the Chinese market in the early 90's, we have seen tremendous momentum due to economic reform and the country's commitment to opening up its economy to the world. The government has made a tangible effort to improve the business environment and reinvigorate the market, and we're confident China will continue to strengthen development through greater openness and market inclusion.

Akihiro Fukaishi, president of Epson China

A1 This is our second time to participate in the CIIE. The CIIE is no doubt an important open window to communicate with customers and partners extensively and show our in-depth innovation deeply. Last year, we participated in the CIIE for the first time and gained a very good result.

A2 Although the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world economy to some extent, the overall foundation of the Chinese economy is still solid, and the attitude of open cooperation and the broad market space have not been affected. During this hard period, the opening of the CIIE has undoubtedly sent a signal to the outside world that China insists on opening-up and trade liberalization. As for global enterprises, the CIIE gives us a great platform to show our capability for supporting recovery and developing the world economy.

A3 China's import policy is very important for building the new dual-circulation development pattern. Undoubtedly it is of great significance to promote economic development and provide foreign companies opportunities to know more about China users' needs and have the right guidance in promoting business. For Epson, China has always been one of our very important markets under the opening-up policy. We can introduce our innovative and green technology to Chinese users better. For example, we have inkjet printers with heat-free technology, which achieve lower energy consumption and emissions, providing Chinese users a smart and healthy lifestyle. Besides, we can have more opportunities to co-create with Chinese partners, and have a deeper understanding of the Chinese market to launch more suitable solutions for users.

A4 Based on our technology plus localization strategy in China, Epson has paid close attention to the changing trends, made efforts in many innovation areas, like printing, visual, and manufacturing, and achieved a good market performance in recent years. Compared with last year, Epson China will achieve a 15 percent year-on-year growth in fiscal year 2021. Nowadays, we find that China focuses on promoting technological innovation and industrial digital transformation, and Chinese users prefer a more convenient and smart life. Based on this, Epson actively promotes the printing digital transformation, and with the popularity of mobile devices, Epson launched the convenient WeChat printing solutions. We believe that through these innovative products and solutions, we can better match the needs of Chinese users, and let us get more market opportunities.

A5 From the past decades, China's opening-up policy boosted its economy and promoted China's active integration into the global value chain. China made great contribution to the sustainable development of the global economy. As a foreign company, we have full confidence in the China market based on China's opening-up policy and actions, especially the performance of the Chinese economy during the pandemic.

Francois Tardif, president of Faurecia China

A1 It is the second time for Faurecia to participate in the CIIE. It provided a great opportunity for us to showcase our products, innovations, ideation and brand to broader audiences. The CIIE is an influential platform to engage various stakeholders including government representatives, customers, industrial experts and the general public.

A2 The CIIE has always served as an open and mutually beneficial platform for investment, trading, and technology exchange and cooperation, which fully reflects the interests of all parties from various countries.

In the pandemic-ravaged period, the world economy and politics are full of uncertainty. The "dual-circulation" is a new pattern that the Chinese government has raised to ensure the sustainable development of China economics. "Dual-circulation" is a new approach of reform and opening-up, which shall be analyzed and understood by all economic actors so as to redefine and adjust their strategies in consideration of the new opportunities associated with it.

A3 The Chinese government is making continuous efforts and contribution to stimulate multilateral trading. CIIE is one of the strong evidence, which has been successfully held for three consecutive years, despite the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A4 China has been the worldwide largest auto market for 12 consecutive years. In 2020, the sales volume of China's automotive market represented 32.5 percent of the global market, while annual sales volume of NEV exceeded 1 million for three consecutive years in China. On this front, the Chinese auto market has become, in 2021, the new reference point with a broad consumption potential.

It is also well known that the government of China has been over the past years actively supporting NEV as a key lever towards a decarbonated mobility. Recently, the Chinese government has released its latest goal－"By 2030, the proportion of new energy and green energy-powered vehicles will reach about 40 percent of the automotive market".

For all these reasons, China is one of the most strategically significant markets in Faurecia's layout. In the future, Faurecia will reinforce its China Priority strategy and further root in the local market, aiming to double its sales in China to 5 billion euros ($5.8 billion) by 2025.

A5 Certainly. In recent years, Faurecia has benefited from the improved business environment in China. Consequently, we have recently increased our investment in China, in cities such as Fengcheng, Jiangxi province, Shenyang, Chongqing, Jiaxing, Zhejiang province and Shanghai. Policies aimed at opening up the China business environment are indeed very important as they provide for MNCs a more favorable context for investment with better resource and industrial infrastructures. We hold strong confidence in our current investment pattern in the Chinese market.

Adele Tao, senior vice-president, Lixil Group, and CEO, Lixil Water Technology Greater China

A1 This is the second year for Lixil to attend the CIIE. Last year, Lixil made its debut on this platform of Co-creation and Sharing and received fruitful results. Through this experience, Lixil has deeply felt the "China speed" on the transition of exhibits to commodities and leveraged the precious opportunity of "exhibitors to investors". The CIIE's strong spillover and driving effects have also strengthened Lixil's determination to participate again in this grand event.

A2 The outbreak of COVID-19 last year has brought huge challenges to the world economy and the business operations of various organizations. The successful holding of the past two CIIEs not only demonstrated China's outstanding ability in controlling the pandemic and stabilizing the economic and social development, but also boosted the global economy and trade recovery. At the CIIE, the platform that shares "China opportunities" and "world opportunities", companies from all countries can carry out more international trades through exchanges and communications, providing valuable opportunities for the recovery of the world economy.

A3 Imports are a crucial bridge that connects domestic and international circulations, and an important channel for the outside world to explore the Chinese market. The huge market advantage and domestic demand potential formed by China's 1.4 billion population provide development opportunities for countries around the world to expand exports to China. At the same time, China continues to optimize its business environment and actively expand imports. It has organized large-scale exhibitions such as the CIFTIS, CIIE and Hainan Expo, focusing on different areas for opening-up, and established win-win platforms of open partnerships for global companies including Lixil.

A4 Nowadays, emission peak and carbon neutrality have gradually become global issues. The realization of green economy and sustainable development is not only the trend of the housing industry, but also the trend of the entire Chinese consumer market and even the world. How to better conserve resources, reduce emissions, and achieve the dual carbon goals has been a shared topic for all walks of life. This is not only the social responsibility for enterprises, but also the gist to maintain their momentum and competitive advantage.

A5 Lixil has been in China for 10 years. Lixil has witnessed China's development as well as China's efforts to stabilize the global economic development and foreign investment. As one of the beneficiaries of China's business environment, Lixil is fully confident in the prospects of China's future economic growth. China will continue to be a significant region for Lixil to accelerate its business growth.

Daniel Mathieson, CEO of Zespri

A1 Zespri has participated in CIIE since the beginning in 2018, to show our commitment to China, to strengthen our partnerships and to share ideas. CIIE has become one of the premier trade events around the world.

A2 CIIE is incredibly important as a place for people to come together to share ideas, build and strengthen ties and to find ways to succeed together. I always enjoy coming here to listen and learn and represent Zespri and the New Zealand kiwifruit industry as we look for new opportunities. I've no doubt that as travel restrictions ease, more and more people from around the world will seek to travel here for this great event.

A3 China has been a major driver of global economic growth, and in particular during the recovery from COVID-19, exporters around the world have sought every opportunity to sell to China's discerning consumers. China's outlook remains incredibly strong and Zespri, like exporters around the world, is committed to building connections with Chinese partners and consumers and to continuing to provide the world's best kiwifruit.

A4 After more than 20 years China is already one of our largest export markets. Zespri has seen strong growth in our own China business as more and more consumers have sought our kiwifruit because they know it is healthy, tastes great and is grown in a way that's good for communities and the environment. We're incredibly confident in China and expect to see demand for Zespri Kiwifruit continue to grow. We will continue to invest in strengthening our relationships with our partners, consumers and communities in China, and to helping communities to thrive here and around the world.

A5 Zespri has benefitted greatly from the New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement and the upgrade announced earlier this year. The efficiency of the Customs clearance process also continues to improve, and most of our kiwifruit is in the hands of our customers within 24 hours. Of course, during this special time of COVID, we are facing new challenges both with the movement across borders of our kiwifruit and our people. China Customs has worked closely with Zespri to overcome some of these new issues ensuring that fresh fruit can be cleared safely and efficiently.

China has shown real leadership in international trade. China's finalization of a free trade agreement with New Zealand back in 2018 was China's first with a developed economy. China joining RCEP is another signal of this leadership in helping establish the world's largest free trade zone. RCEP will assist Zespri especially around Customs procedures and some of the rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures. It is also a fantastic example of the benefit of establishing clear and consistent international trading rules for all. This has been incredibly important as opposition to free trade has grown in recent years.

Woody Guo, president of Herbalife Nutrition China, senior vice-president of Herbalife Nutrition

A1 This is the fourth consecutive year for Herbalife Nutrition to participate in the CIIE. This platform provides a very good opportunity for us to listen to the voice of Chinese consumers, communicate with other industry players, and better understand the market and industry trends.

A2 The CIIE serves as a testimony that COVID-19 gets effectively controlled in China, and it represents a steady recovery and long-term momentum of the Chinese economy. Hosting of the CIIE itself also demonstrates China's sincere desire to share its market opportunities with the outside world and contribute to global economic recovery.

A3 We noticed that China's GDP grew by 9.8 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters. This again shows that China, as the world's second-largest economy, has become a major contributor to the global economy under the backdrop of the worldwide pandemic. China's opening-up and optimized business environment will present significant opportunities for foreign companies including Herbalife Nutrition, and we will continue to invest in the Chinese market.

A4 Over the years, the Chinese people are attaching greater importance to nutrition and health. Statistics show that the market size of China's nutrition and healthcare products was less than 100 billion yuan ($15.6 million) in 2013, and is expected to exceed 320 billion yuan in 2023. China's efforts to boost domestic demand will absolutely drive up consumption in nutrition and the healthcare industry. All of these will bring huge opportunities to the industry and have firmed up the company's decision to keep investing in China. We are very optimistic about the future prospects of the Chinese market.

A5 It's true that the business environment in China is improving continuously. I believe the policy measures launched by the Chinese government, such as encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship, stimulating market vitality, simplifying enterprise registration, will surely support foreign enterprises to tap the potential of the Chinese market.

In recent years, China has continued to expand its opening-up and create more development opportunities for foreign-funded companies.

The optimization of the business environment is an important move. For instance, enterprise registration process is simplified in China, and the country has been continuously shortening the negative list for foreign investment. Besides, government officials have visited Herbalife Nutrition many times to understand the support we need and help us solve these problems. China's openness and welcoming attitude allow foreign-funded companies, including Herbalife Nutrition, to come to invest more conveniently and confidently.