(Yicai) Nov. 10 -- The China International Import Expo has become a key platform for global procurement, investment promotion, cultural exchange and open cooperation since its launch in 2018. As China approaches its 15th Five Year Plan, which runs from 2026 to 2030, the expo should upgrade its role by further expanding opening-up, contributing more to global governance and better connecting with domestic demand.

National Platform for Opening-up

Today, international trade frictions are intensifying, and the world economy lacks growth momentum. In response, China has taken a series of steps to further open up in order to counter trade protectionism and unilateralism, and the CIIE, through its three major sections, the Country Exhibition, the Business Exhibition and the Hongqiao International Economic Forum, plays an important role in this effort.

A key task in further opening up is steadily aligning with international high-standard economic and trade rules. The CIIE should serve as a pressure-testing ground for global economic and trade rules. During the six-day event, it can conduct closed trials of regulations such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and then replicate them more broadly once proven.

On this basis, the CIIE should actively participate in and guide the formulation of international rules and standards. It should also explore the development of “CIIE rules” and “China standards” in emerging fields.

The CIIE should also promote new forms of trade. As the global trade structure continues to shift, the share of services and high-value goods is growing. The CIIE should support services trade by exploring a negative-list management system for cross-border services and raise the level of standardization in services trade. At the same time, it should help optimize the structure of goods trade by increasing the share of high-tech and green products.

Global Governance Platform

The Hongqiao International Economic Forum, which is held alongside the CIIE, mainly focuses on issues such as global governance, technological innovation, climate change and other cutting-edge topics. It also publishes important outcomes such as the World Openness Report. Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the CIIE should prioritize discussions in the following three key areas.

The first area is digital governance. A global digital divide still exists, with about one-third of the world’s population lacking access to the internet. There are major differences in regulatory standards for data protection, cross-border data flows and artificial intelligence regulation across different countries and regions. The CIIE should explore mechanisms for cross-border data circulation and contribute to the development of the “Digital Silk Road,” so as to help bridge the gaps in global digital development.

The second field is environmental governance. Climate change, the loss of biodiversity and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events pose grave challenges for humanity. The CIIE should help introduce and promote green, low-carbon technologies, accelerate the development of a new energy system and support China’s carbon-peaking goals. It should also encourage the improvement and mutual recognition of international green standards.

The third area is development governance. The United Nations has identified 45 least-developed countries that face significant structural obstacles to economic growth. Since its inception, the CIIE has supported the entry of products from these countries into the Chinese market. Moving forward, the CIIE should continue to serve as a platform for strengthening cooperation between China and countries in the Global South, working together toward modernization.

Market-Linking Platform

Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan, the CIIE should further tap into the potential of the domestic consumption market.

As the CIIE host city, Shanghai is accelerating its development into an international consumption center, with the growth of service consumption being a major driver of overall consumption growth.

International experience shows that when per capita gross domestic product exceeds USD10,000, there is a significant increase in demand for service consumption, and when per capita GDP reaches USD15,000, services become the dominant form of consumption.

Shanghai’s per capita GDP surpassed USD30,000 last year, but the proportion of service consumption still trails that of moderately developed economies.

Against this backdrop, the CIIE should roll out more service-related consumer goods, create new consumer demand and lead the trend of consumption upgrading in China.

The CIIE has helped drive development not only in Shanghai, but across the surrounding Yangtze River Delta region and nationwide. To further amplify this spillover effect, it is worth exploring the establishment of a spillover transformation fund to support overseas companies in their cross-regional industrial layout, so as to facilitate coordinated development between Shanghai and neighboring cities.

The author, Xia Ji, is chief executive officer of Hualue Think Tank Group.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor