The second annual China International Import Expo (CIIE) kicked off on November 5 at Shanghai's National Exhibition and Convention Center. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech in which he emphasized continuous reduction of trade barriers and further improvement of global value and supply chains.

As the world's first import-themed national-level expo, CIIE's partners include the World Trade Organization and four UN agencies. To help us understand how trade contributes to global sustainable growth, CGTN's Senior Correspondent Tian Wei talked to Beate Trankmann, who is the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in China.

Twenty years ago, Beate Trankmann attended the export-focused Canton Fair in Guangdong, which was one of the very important international affairs for international businesses to participate in. But now, the situation is different: it's import expo in Shanghai. Trankmann witnessed this change.

"It's been twenty years and I am very excited to be back and also to see how much China has changed, how much it has modernized, in terms of the expo, that's also an interesting development that I think tells the story of development in China and the trajectory," said Trankmann.

The Canton Fair was very much focused on export and was very much in line with China's economic model of the time of export-led growth. China has been tremendously successful in perfecting that more and being very competitive as the factory of the world.

Now China is moving up the value chain ladder and looking at domestic consumption also. People have benefited from growth, and poverty has been reduced. There is a growing and sprawling middle class in China, and China is now the biggest consumer market in the world.

"So with the Shanghai import expo, looking at import and trade relationships, I think it signifies that shift from China being driven by and the growth of China being driven by export-led growth to being driven by domestic consumption," Trankmann added.

UNDP, as a supporting partner of this import expo, is interested in the role that trade, trade relationships and economic cooperation can play in accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals globally and bringing partners together like the expo does.

"I think is a great platform for the work community to see how countries, how economies, how trade, how private investments can contribute to accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals and looking at it really not only from an economic or financial perspective, but also how private sector and economic growth beyond just the GDP figures can actually contribute to social and environmental wellbeing. And I think that's why we are interested in this as UNDP," Trankmann explained.

World Insight with Tian Wei is an international platform for debate and intelligent discussion. It is the meeting point of both the highly influential and rising voices, facilitated by host, Tian Wei. It provides nutrition to form your own thoughts and ideas through 45-minute live debate and interviews.

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Time (GMT): 1415, 2015

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