Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) — Amid global trade challenges, China has sent new signals to further promote trade in services, giving a strong impetus to its own development and creating more space for global economic growth.
The signal has resonated strongly at the ongoing China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) 2025 in Beijing, which has brought together exhibitors from more than 80 countries, regions and international organizations.
As China steadily opens up its services sector and consumption shifts towards this area, the fair provides an important meeting point for global companies to access new opportunities, find solutions and share the benefits of China's high-quality development.
GROWING DEMAND
The fair, now in its 12th year, serves as a platform for China to showcase the development of its service industry and its market potential. The central exhibition area alone covers an area of over 100,000 square meters, equivalent to about 14 standard football pitches, covering a wide range of service sectors such as culture and tourism, education, transportation, health care, finance, environment, sports and information technology.
This year, CIFTIS offers visitors a unique opportunity to tour Beijing's most iconic cultural sites without leaving the walls of the cultural and tourism services hall.
Among the many exhibitors, the joint stand of the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven and some other famous landmarks of Beijing, which brought their popular cultural and creative products to the event, stands out. This allowed overseas visitors to effectively get acquainted with the most striking manifestations of cultural creativity of the Chinese capital without having to travel all over the city.
“The fair offers a key platform for communication and cooperation with potential partners across various industries,” said Wang Fang at the Beijing Zoo booth, having just discussed potential cooperation in the production of eco-friendly souvenirs with a representative of one of the invited companies.
“Our goal is to provide both domestic and foreign tourists with better services and added value,” she added.
Instead of searching for traditional goods, CIFTIS visitors exchange impressions. As China enters a stage where the service sector accounts for more than half of the economy, demand for quality services is growing, creating space for the domestic industry to raise its standards and for international companies to seize opportunities.
China's consumption structure has reached a stage where consumption of goods and consumption of services are equally important, said Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping, noting that from January to July this year, retail sales of services grew 5.2 percent year on year, and the share of services in total consumption increased.
Sheng Qiuping pointed out that the problem is that there is insufficient supply of quality services to meet the growing demand. And in this context, CIFTIS plays an important role.
With nearly 2,000 exhibitors, including nearly 500 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders such as Walmart, AstraZeneca and KPMG, the fair provides a glimpse into some of the most innovative offerings in the global services industry.
Chinese humanoid robots have attracted considerable attention by demonstrating capabilities such as delivering food, making coffee, playing football and even taking part in boxing matches.
Hongson To, chairman of KPMG China and Asia Pacific, said China's development of new productive forces, including cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence, will drive progress in knowledge-intensive services trade.
"As an example of China's high-level opening-up, CIFTIS will continue to optimize the structure of trade in services and bring high resilience and vitality to the Chinese economy," he added.
DEEPENING OPENNESS
Paul Bateman, chairman of JP Morgan Asset Management, has visited China more than 150 times over the past 30 years. “With each visit I am more impressed by the vitality and growth of the Chinese market,” he said at the CIFTIS Global Services Trade Summit.
Noting that his company's presence in China has expanded in recent years, he stressed that thanks to China's decision to open up its services sector, especially to lift limits on foreign ownership in certain financial services, the growth of trade in services creates significant opportunities for the industry.
China continues to push for the opening up of its services sector. Last year, the country established a nationwide negative list management system for cross-border trade in services. In designated pilot free trade zones, foreign residents can now open an account to deposit and record securities or futures, and conduct business such as providing securities investment advice or futures trading support services.
These measures have contributed to a significant increase in trade in services. In the first half of this year, China's total services trade reached a record 3.9 trillion yuan (about $549 billion), up 8 percent year on year.
During the fair, officials pledged to make efforts to further open up the sector. “China will push forward pilot programs for opening up in the telecommunications and medical sectors, while steadily advancing opening up in the education and cultural sectors,” Sheng Qiuping said.
The country's authorities will also deepen alignment with high-standard international economic and trade rules and promote the formation of a transparent, stable and predictable institutional environment, he added.
"China is willing to work with all countries and parties to strengthen openness and cooperation in trade in services and promote global trade and economic growth," Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said at the fair.
SHARED CAPABILITIES
For international CIFTIS members such as Australian vocational education and training provider Chisholm Institute of TAFE, China's growing demand for quality services presents significant opportunities.
“We are looking to find partners that will enable us to deliver Australian skills services to the Chinese market,” said Christopher Hogg, global business development manager, highlighting education as a key area of cooperation in services trade between the two countries.
Over the years, CIFTIS has become a key platform that facilitates global cooperation, encourages exchanges of advanced services and creates shared opportunities for global business.
The Norwegian national pavilion, featuring nine companies from sectors such as healthcare, food and aquaculture, is a clear demonstration of how changing consumption patterns in China are creating opportunities for foreign businesses.
Henning Christoffersen, Trade Counsellor at the Norwegian Embassy in China, noted the alignment between Norway’s offer and the growing health consciousness of the Chinese. “Chinese consumers are very health conscious. And for the products that Norway creates, that’s great,” he said, seeing “great opportunities” for Norwegian businesses to find partners and supply goods to Chinese consumers.
As Sheng Qiuping noted, by deepening integration with global markets, strengthening industrial cooperation and expanding open cooperation in trade in services, China will inject greater impetus into global economic prosperity. -0-
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
.