The China International Import Expo (CIIE), held for the seventh consecutive year, is continuously setting new records, with 3,496 exhibitors from 129 countries and regions, 297 Fortune Global 500 and industry-leading companies participating, and 186 companies and institutions attending for the seventh time in a row. A survey conducted by CGTN among 33,858 global respondents shows that 67 percent of participants believe China is an open and competitive free market. The percentage of respondents holding the same view in Africa, the Middle East, South America, and Southeast Asia are 86.6 percent, 88.2 percent, 77.9 percent, and 78.6 percent, respectively.
Openness is the core concept of the CIIE and a distinct hallmark of Chinese-style modernization. According to Chinese Customs statistics, in the first three quarters of this year, China's total import and export value reached new highs, with each quarter exceeding 10 trillion RMB ($1.40 trillion). The total for the first three quarters exceeded 32 trillion RMB ($4.47 trillion) for the first time in history.
In the survey, 77.5 percent of respondents believe that China's business environment is attractive to investors; 73.9 percent of global respondents support their countries and companies participating in international cooperation projects initiated by China; 78.5 percent of respondents believe that their countries benefit from trade with China, and they firmly believe that China's ongoing high-level opening-up will bring broader market opportunities for trade partners. Furthermore, 84.3 percent of respondents believe that China is crucial to the stability of global industrial and supply chains.
CIIE, held for seven consecutive years, has brought a fresh outlook to the world with each edition. Its role as an international public product has become increasingly evident, and exhibitors from Global South countries have particularly felt its impact. CIIE brought cashews from Tanzania, peppers from Rwanda, and honey from Zambia into Chinese households, hastening their integration into the globalized process. This year's Expo has provided over 120 free exhibition booths for 37 least developed countries and expanded the African product section. It helps expand unilateral openness to the least developed countries, putting into practice the inclusive and equitable concept through concrete actions.
In the survey, 89.9 percent of African respondents appreciated China's attention and support for Global South countries; 78.2 percent believed that China is committed to closely linking its own development with Africa's development, integrating China's opportunities with those of Africa; and 92.1 percent supported African countries actively participating in international cooperation programs initiated by China.
China has always been a significant opportunity for global development, and the resilience of its economy makes this opportunity even more certain. Behind the ever-growing success of CIIE is the global confidence in China's economic prospects and its enormous market size. In the survey, 92.3 percent of global respondents praised China's strong economic strength, 91.9 percent believed that China's economic development speed is fast, 81.3 percent felt that the long-term positive fundamentals of China's economy have not changed and 89.2 percent highly evaluated China's contributions to the world economy in recent years.
The survey data comes from the 2024 Global Favorability poll on China and the Poll on China-Africa Relations initiated by CGTN. The respondents include people from developed countries such as the United States, France and Japan, as well as from developing countries like Egypt, Brazil and Nigeria.
(Cover via CGTN.)