Reinvigorating global trade by pursuing openness and reciprocality

Between November 5 and 10, 2018, the first China International Import Exposition was held in Shanghai. Chinese President, Mr Xi Jinping attended the inauguration ceremony by delivering a keynote speech. President Xi Jinping points out that the world is going through a new round of major development, transformation and adjustment. The economic and social well-being of countries in the world is increasingly interconnected.

The reform of the global governance system and the international order is picking up speed. On the other hand, the world economy is going through profound adjustment, and protectionism and unilateralism are resurging. Economic globalisation faces headwinds, and multilateralism and the system of free trade are under threat. Uncertainties and instabilities still abound, and risks and challenges are growing.

Living in such a complex world, we need to see the underlining trend, bolster confidence in our future through opening-up and cooperation and work together to cope with risks and challenges. President Xi Jinping stresses that the last four decades of reform and opening-up in China has been an epic journey for the Chinese people. With determination and through self-reliance and hard work, we have forged ahead on the road to national development and progress.

China has pursued development with its door open and succeeded in transforming a closed and semiclosed economy into a fully open economy. Openness has become a trademark of China. China has grown by embracing the world, and the world has also benefited from China’s opening-up. China’s door will never be closed. It will only open still wider. China will not stop its effort to pursue higher-quality opening-up.

China will not stop its effort to pursue an open world economy! And China will not stop its effort to pursue a community with a shared future for mankind. China will unswervingly follow a win-win strategy of opening-up, adopt high-quality policies to advance trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation, and move toward nationwide opening-up that coordinates the coastal and inland areas and connects the eastern and western regions. China will remain a strong advocate of openness at the global level, and will continue to act as a stable engine of global growth, a big market with enormous opportunities and an active supporter of global governance reform.

The 2018 CIIE is the world’s first import expo held at the national level, an innovation in the history of global trade. It is an important decision made by China to pursue a new round of high-level opening-up, and is China’s major initiative to still widen market access to the rest of the world. It demonstrates China’s consistent position of supporting the multilateral trading system and promoting free trade. It is a concrete action by China to advance an open world economy and support economic globalisation.

Attending the event are 172 countries, regions and international organisations, more than 3,600 companies with a total exhibition area of 300,000 square meters, and over 800,000 viewers from more than 400,000 Chinese and foreign buyers who are here to explore business opportunities and have struck deals worth around $57.83 billion for the year ahead. There are 13 countries including China the host country which have set up national pavilions during the expo such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan, South Africa, Egypt, Russia, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Canada, Brazil and Mexico.

The Chinese pavilion featuring the new development philosophy of “innovation, coordination, ecology, opening and sharing” showcases great achievements made by China through its opening-up policy and new opportunities brought to the world by China through its development and Belt and Road Initiative. During the expo, three international economic forums are also held which are themed respectively on “Trade and Opening”, “Trade and Investment” and “Trade and Innovation”, more than 2000 attendees of which include international organisation executives, government officials, renowned entrepreneurs and scholars from over 130 countries and regions.

The CIIE as an annual event will work as an important platform to facilitate inter-country economic communication, product exhibition and exchange of opinions on global key problems. At the conclusion of the 1st CIIE, more than 200 enterprises have signed up for the 2019 CIIE. In recent years, political trust between China and Bahrain has been increasing incessantly, while economic cooperations between both countries also bear fruits in profusion.

The Belt and Road Initiative raised by China is compatible with the 2030 Economic Vision of Bahrain in development philosophy, focuses and model, which heralds a new era promising closer cooperations between China and Bahrain. Hereby, we sincerely welcome Bahraini enterprises to join the 2019 CIIE for presenting to the world Bahraini development achievements and advantageous products and promoting economic cooperation and exchange with China and other countries of the world.