The China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) opens in Beijing on Thursday, and is aimed at promoting deeper cooperation and wider opening-up in service trade and beyond. More than 10,000 enterprises from 153 countries and regions have signed up for this year’s CIFTIS. Among them, 2,400 firms will showcase their products and services offline.
The annual China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, the largest of its kind globally, netted a greater number of deliverables than last year on the back of a larger attendance, showing China's commitment to opening up, officials said on Tuesday at the conclusion of the fair.
As of 4pm Tuesday, the event had seen 1,672 achievements, Wang Zhihua, an official with the Department of Trade in Services and Commercial Services of the Ministry of Commerce, told reporters. Among them were 139 innovations that debuted at the event.
With the Shougang Industrial Park in western Beijing serving as a new host venue alongside the China National Convention Center in northern Beijing, this year's trade fair attracted more than 12,000 firms from 153 countries and regions, which attended the CIFTIS exhibitions and meetings either online or in-person, an addition of five countries and over 4,500 firms from the previous year, Yan Ligang, head of Beijing's commerce bureau, disclosed.
The event came across as more globalized, signifying an expansion of China's circle of friends, Yan said.
In addition, 21 international organizations attended this year's CIFTIS activities, an increase of four from last year, he continued, revealing the attendance of 74 foreign embassies in China, up six from the year before.
In a sign that China continues to take the lead in forging services trade openness, a preparatory meeting for the founding of a global services trade alliance was held on Tuesday, according to Yan.
Thus far, more than 100 institutions and firms have filed for the would-be alliance's membership, he said, adding that the alliance covers five continents and 12 major areas in trade in services, and is set to be launched within the year.
