Visitors talk with Japanese exhibitors at the third China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, South China's Hainan province, April 11, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

HAIKOU -- For enterprises globally, China's consumer products expo has provided a springboard to enter this unmissable market, giving a much-needed boost to COVID-dented global business confidence.

As a first-time exhibitor at the China International Consumer Products Expo, Masashi Nanase, assistant manager of Japanese company Fujiya Corporation, was excited to see exhibition booths dotted with visitors.

The continuous influx of visitors shows the vitality of the Chinese economy, he said.

Held in the resort island of Hainan province, the third CICPE has attracted over 3,300 brands from 65 countries and regions. In the first two days of the expo, the seaside exhibition center has already reported over 90,000 visits.

Hoping to expand their business to the Chinese mainland, Nanase's company intends to leverage the CICPE as a platform to promote products. "I believe our company will have massive development in China," the manager said.

Stephan Mecha, head of Group Sales of Volkswagen Group China, said that the CICPE is a platform for expanding trade, strengthening cooperation, and promoting development among countries.

During the 2013-21 period, China has remained the biggest contributor to global economic growth, with consumption assuming a bigger role in shoring up its economic growth.

Official data showed that final consumption contributed 65.4 percent to the country's headline GDP expansion in 2021, surpassing investment and export to become the biggest growth contributor.

Consumption has also been highlighted by China's policymakers in multiple key documents and meetings. In this year's annual government work report, for instance, the country has reaffirmed its determination to prioritize the recovery and expansion of consumption.

With massive opportunities and supportive policies, the world's second-largest consumer market holds irresistible appeal to global businesses. And the CICPE, the first state-level expo on boutique consumer products, becomes all the more prominent.

The expo is a superb opportunity to showcase the brand to Chinese customers and bring closer the ties between the company and the Chinese market, said Josie Zhang, president of Burberry China.

The Hainan expo, as the first large-scale international expo after China optimized its COVID response, has also offered a shot in the arm for COVID-distressed enterprises.

"After three years of development, the expo is well positioned to play a more prominent role in boosting consumer confidence, unleashing consumption potential, and connecting global consumer goods with the Chinese market," Zhang added.

Commercial Consul of the French Consulate General in Shanghai, Xavier Chatte-Ruols, also in charge of the French pavilion at the expo, stressed the importance for enterprises to meet consumer demand and the confidence of French companies in Hainan and China.

Many customers were interested in the brand and came to buy directly, noted Nicolas Gros, general manager of French brand Montagut, saying that he was "quite impressed."

"I think I will return in future," he said.

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