Multinational companies are committed to China's long-term market growth as over 500 firms attended the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, displaying their unique products, from local specialties to cutting-edge metaverse tech solutions.

With a booth covering 120 square kilometers, Ajlan & Bros Holding Group (ABHG), a Saudi Arabia-based conglomerate, debuted at the China National Convention Center, one of the exhibition venues for the fair. The group is also the first private company exhibitor from Saudi Arabia.

"This shows our long-term commitment to the China market. We have been in China for over 20 years, contributing to the local economy and employment. We are currently the largest Saudi private company in China," said Mohammed Abdulaziz Al Ajlan, deputy chairman of ABHG and chairman of the Saudi-Chinese Business Council.

Ajlan & Bros founded a textile and apparel supply chain enterprise in Shandong Province that turns raw materials into finished products. With a total land area of over 170,000 square meters and over 4,000 staff, the enterprise exports products to 11 countries and regions with a turnover of over $100 million in 2020, making it the top exporter in Shandong's Zaozhuang City, according to the company.

Ajlan & Bros started to diversify their business in China several years ago, not just selling products, but partnering with Chinese companies to help them expand the business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Earlier this year, the company partnered with Chinese logistics giant Shunfeng Express to launch the service in Saudi Arabia. 

"We introduced the latest technological advancements to the logistics sector in Saudi Arabia," said the company.

They have also successfully partnered with Tencent Games and Chifeng Gold for diverse projects.

China's trade in services has maintained rapid growth since 2012, with an average annual growth rate of 6.1 percent, about 3.1 percentage points higher than the global growth rate, said Wang Dongtang, director-general of the department of trade in services and commercial services at the Ministry of Commerce.

The global ranking of China's trade in services has also risen over the years, from third place to second. In fact, by the end of 2021, the nation had held onto its second-place ranking for eight consecutive years, Wang said.

Powered by continuous opening-up, the stable recovery of the services sector and digitalization in services trade, China's import and export of services notched up 2.89 trillion yuan ($419 billion) in the first half of 2022, an increase of 21.6 percent year on year, according to Ministry of Commerce data released in August.

"The Chinese market is very important for Epson and will continue to become more important. Because of this, we will continue to increase investment in the Chinese market," said Fukaishi Akihiro, president of Epson (China) Co., Ltd. "This is not a policy of Epson China, but a general policy of Epson Group."

Epson China, which attended CIFTIS for the second time, brought its latest technology solutions in the field of digital services, including a robot-based smart agriculture model and low-carbon office printing.

Epson's robot can boost the efficiency of selecting and planting seedlings when farming, the company said. At the demonstration, the robot carried multiple seedlings at once and sorted out the healthy seedlings after scanning them in front of a sorting machine. The company has already partnered with local companies in Hainan Province and Fujian Province to try out the model for potential commercial application.

Akihiro admitted the company doesn't expect a soaring performance this year considering China's economy has been facing considerable downward pressure amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Epson has taken actions since the pandemic to provide products more suitable for the high demand of working or schooling at home, Akihiro added.

"We must keep an eye on the future more and put resources toward sectors with potential, such as robotics, since fields like electronic vehicles, renewable energy and solar batteries may all need automation via robotics," he said.

Acknowledging environmentally friendly industries and digital innovation will gradually become the new driving force for China's development in the next five years, Akihiro said Epson China will not only provide more energy efficient and environmentally friendly products, but also enhance cooperation with Chinese counterparts to achieve win-win development.

In the opinion of Akihiro, the dual circulation put forward years ago means more opportunities for foreign-invested companies. "How to grasp this opportunity to get further development in China is what we should seriously consider from now on."

Ajlan & Bros agreed China still is a great market to invest in long-term. "Although there has been short-term volatility in the Chinese economy, we are confident that China's medium to long-term economic growth is stable and sound," Ajlan said, adding "we will be here (in China) for the next 20 years and beyond."