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Mdm Zhong Manying, Economic & Commercial Minister-
Counsellor, Embassy of China
February 22nd 2018 SBF Board Room, Singapore
Your Excellency Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry of Culture, Community and
Youth,
Mr Teo Siong Seng, Chairman of Singapore Business Federation,
Mr Roland Ng San Tiong, President of Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry,
Colleagues from Ministry of Trade and Industry and IE Singapore,
Friends from the media and associations,
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning!
It’s my pleasure to join the press conference of China International Import Expo (CIIE) today. First of all, on behalf of the
Economic and Commercial Office, Embassy of China in Singapore, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you for
attending the conference.
In May 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that China
will host the CIIE starting from 2018. It is a major decision of China to promote a new round of high-level opening up as
well as a key measure for China to proactively open its market to the rest of the world. At present, the world economy has
undergone profound adjustment and the economic globalization has encountered twists and turns. The international
community is more and more interested in exploring China's market, taking the "express train" of China's development, and
the enthusiasm for participating in the Belt and Road Initiative is on the rise. China's economy has shifted from a period of
rapid growth to a period of high-quality development. The economic structure has adjusted quickly, with the demand for
high-quality and featured products rising rapidly. Against such a backdrop, it is not only in line with China's own development
needs but also with the common development of the world that CIIE should be held.
The First Session of CIIE will be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai from November 5 to
November 10, 2018. The exhibition consists of country pavilion for trade and investment and commercial exhibition for
enterprise and business. During the Expo, China will also hold the first "Hongqiao International Trade Forum". The CIIE will
provide not just a forum for trade in goods and services but also an all-purpose comprehensive public platform for, among
others, international cooperation, display of national images and discussion on major global issues.
The Chinese government sincerely welcomes government officials, business communities and enterprises of Singapore to
participate in the CIIE and make use of it as a platform to strengthen international exchanges and expand business. China’s
invitation to Singapore to participate in the CIIE is mainly based on the following considerations:
Firstly, the CIIE is an important platform for China-Singapore cooperation to reach a new level.
In recent years, the all-round and rapid developing China-Singapore trade has become an important cornerstone of bilateral
economic cooperation. According to MTI statistics, since 2013, China has become Singapore's largest trading partner and
export market. In 2017, China-Singapore bilateral trade in goods exceeded S$137 billion, up by 17%, with Singapore's
exports to China increasing substantially by 22%. China is also Singapore's fourth largest trade partner and export market of
services. All these data show that China-Singapore cooperation in the field of trade contains tremendous potential and has
broad prospects.
The CIIE provides new growth engines for the development of the bilateral trade and is a great opportunity for Singaporean
enterprises and products to explore the Chinese market. For one thing, China is a huge consumer market with a population
of nearly 1.4 billion. Estimated conservatively, at present, there are more than 300 million middle-income people in China,
accounting for more than 30% of the global middle-income groups. In the past ten years, China's total social consumer
goods retail sales kept an annual growth of over 10%, exceeding 36.6 trillion yuan last year. In the next five years, China is
estimated to import goods worth US$ 8 trillion. For another, Singapore is a global high-end manufacturing hub. "Made in
Singapore" means high quality and good products. Products from Singapore will be highly competitive in the Chinese market.
The CIIE will showcase goods and services such as high-end intelligent equipment, consumer electronics, food & medical
care products, education & tourism as well as creative design. Singapore has great advantages in the above areas. On the
platform of the CIIE, Singaporean enterprises and institutions can better grasp the market opportunities and find a broader
stage for products of Singapore.
Secondly, the CIIE is an effective channel for Singaporean enterprises and products to further develop the
international market.
Hosted by China with participation from across the world, the CIIE will draw purchasers from home and abroad and create
an open platform to “buy global and sell global”. More than 100 countries are expected to participate in the CIIE. Maersk,
Microsoft, Dell, Siemens, SAP, BMW, Volvo, L'Oreal and Danone have all confirmed their participation. By then, there
will be 150 thousands global buyers gathering in the Expo. While exploring the Chinese market, Singapore can also have
first hand information about global trade demand and further build the international reputation of Singaporean products.
Thirdly, the CIIE provides precious opportunities to strengthen China-Singapore cooperation of the Belt and Road
Initiative.
China and Singapore are important partners for the Belt and Road Initiative. In recent years, the cooperation between China
and Singapore under the Belt and Road Initiative has entered a substantive stage and achieved great progresses. Singapore is
China's largest trade partner of services in the countries along the Belt and Road. The bilateral trade in goods accounts for
7% of the total volume of trade in goods between China and the countries along the route. At present, both China and
Singapore are actively promoting the third government-to-government project and strengthening the construction of the
"South Transport Corridor". In the meantime, enterprises in China and Singapore are working together to explore the
markets along the Belt and Road.
During the Expo, China will organize enterprises from the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities as groups to
participate in the CIIE. Institutions and enterprises from many countries along the Belt and Road will be at the Expo as well.
There are many agencies and personnel related with the Belt and Road Initiative gathered in the same city at the same time,
providing China and Singapore a great opportunity to jointly organize targeted symposiums and project promotion meetings.
Based on the bilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, China and Singapore can create more opportunities
and build a platform for all parties to cooperate on.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Ministry of Commerce of China and Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore both attach great importance to promoting
the participation of Singaporean enterprises in the CIIE. MTI has designated the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) as
the lead organizer in Singapore, coordinating and arranging the participation of Singaporean enterprises and institutions. SBF
has settled favorable terms of participation conditions for Singaporean exhibitors, and plans to showcase Singapore products
and services by forming grouped Singapore commercial pavilion in different sectors, improving the effectiveness of the
exhibition. I would like to reaffirm that China is committed to building the Expo to be a first-class exhibition in the world. The
CIIE will facilitate participation in terms of customs clearance, inspection & quarantine and protection of intellectual property
rights, as well as set up long-term one-stop transaction services online and offline. Under the support of the Embassy of
China in Singapore, the Economic and Commercial Office will cooperate with SBF to provide all necessary assistance to
exhibitors in Singapore.
Lastly, I would like to thank MTI and IE Singapore for their firm support for the CIIE; thank SBF for all the work that has
been done; thank associations such as Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Association of Small &
Medium Enterprises, the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, etc. for their kind support. Thank you all!
