4th International Consumer Products Expo to showcase China's 'dual circulation'

The fourth China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) will commence on Saturday in Haikou, the capital of south China's Hainan Province.

A global platform that displays and trades high-end consumer products, this year's CICPE has an exhibition area named "Dual circulation, Global buying" that includes exhibitors from duty-free and e-commerce businesses.

Chinese consumers can purchase quality products made by foreign brands duty-free from the exhibitors in this area, without going abroad or even leaving their homes.

The exhibition area is expected to showcase the country's consumption power, facilitate the construction of the free trade port and contribute to the establishment of the new development paradigm of dual circulation.

"Dual circulation," the new development paradigm China adopted in 2020, takes the domestic market as the mainstay while allowing domestic and foreign markets to reinforce each other. 

The system was rolled out based on changes in China's development conditions domestically and internationally.

With a population of over 1.4 billion and a middle-income group of more than 400 million, stable demand from the world's largest consumer base serves as a crucial pillar for the global economy.

Meanwhile, in recent years, along with the changes in the global political and economic environment, the upsurge in deglobalization and the unilateralist and protectionist acts by certain countries, the traditional global circulation has been notably weakened.

As a result, Beijing urges efforts to root the country's development inside the country and rely more on the domestic market to achieve economic growth.

Thus, the new development paradigm doesn't mean China is withdrawing to its domestic market and shying away from the world. Quite the opposite, Beijing continues to facilitate its huge domestic market to foreigners, and hold the CICPE is a practical move to serve the establishment of the new paradigm.

According to Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping, China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of consumption strength, climbed 5.5 percent year on year in the first two months of 2024 to 8.13 trillion yuan (about $1.15 trillion), revealing the resilience and vitality of the country's consumer market.

By attending the expo, foreign enterprises will not only have the opportunity to enhance their brand image but also to take advantage of the expo's spillover effects and Hainan's tax exemption policies to enter the vast Chinese consumer market. 

This year's expo will boast a sprawling floor area of 128,000 square meters, surpassing its previous editions.

As products of more than 3,000 brands from 59 countries and regions worldwide will be on display, it also shows the attractiveness and potential of the Chinese market for foreign businesses.