By Hu Bin, Levi J Parsons
SYDNEY, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Although the inaugural China International Import Expo (CIIE) took place just one month ago in Shanghai, the wheels are already in motion to make the second event even bigger, and for Aussie exporters looking to grow their market share in China the news was warmly welcome.
Hosted in the New South Wales State Parliament building in Sydney on Thursday with over 100 high-profile government and business leaders in attendance, the CIIE Bureau along with the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai), held a roadshow supported by the Chinese Embassy and the Chinese Consulate in Australia, to invite Aussies back for the 2019 convention.
With the success of the first expo that came together in early November under the theme of "New Era, Shared Future," more than 3,600 exhibitors from all over the world gathered to establish a better platform for international trade and investment.
At the forefront of this push to promote stable global growth, over 200 Aussie brands were on show in Shanghai, making Australia's presence at the event the sixth largest in size and the third biggest in terms of the number of products.
"Australia's presence at the first CIIE, led by Australian Trade Minister the Honorable Simon Birmingham, was very strong," Consul General of the Consulate-General of China in Sydney, Gu Xiaojie told Xinhua at the event.
As the two-way trade between China and Australia continues growing, well-known organizations like Metcash, Australia Post, Swisse and Blackmores were a major part of the first CIIE.
But for some smaller outfits, the event was an opportunity to debut in China and begin their inroad into the bountiful Chinese consumer market with products like fresh produce, meat, diary, wine, healthcare and renewable energy considered to be huge potential areas of growth for Aussie companies.
"All countries have their respective advantages, specialties and competitiveness when it comes to accessing their goods and services to the Chinese market with a population of 1.4 billion," Deputy Director of CIIE Bureau, Liu Fuxue, told Xinhua.
"I hope the CIIE will assist liberalizing and facilitating international trade and investment, joining efforts in baking a bigger still global trade cake, and contributing toward the construction of a more dynamic, open and inclusive globalized economy."
"The CIIE is a gift presented to the world by an open and opening-wider China," he added.
