SYDNEY: As an effective step in China’s push for a broader opening-up, the upcoming 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) provides an excellent platform to promote brands and do business, said Wilton Yao, president of the Australia China Agribusiness Association.
The CIIE allows governments and businesses from around the world to directly engage with China’s market development and changes, understand the latest consumer demands of Chinese consumers, and personally experience the extent to which China is integrating with the global economy, Yao told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Yao sees the CIIE as one of the best and most effective ways to promote brands in the Chinese market, saying that some of his association members have experienced a substantial increase in the influence of their products and brands through the expo.
As the first CIIE exhibition following the pandemic, the association’s members are “looking forward to increased participation from domestic companies in business negotiations and collaborations, particularly in establishing long-term cooperative relationships,” Yao said.
He noted that bilateral agricultural trade has been steadily recovering since 2022, with exports of agricultural products to China comprising nearly 20 percent of Australia’s overall agricultural exports last year.
The association, Yao said, plans to establish offices in Beijing and Shanghai this year in a bid to expand bilateral agricultural exchanges beyond simple agricultural trade, incorporating the transfer of agricultural technologies.
While all countries, including China, are currently facing various forms of economic challenges, Yao said he believes that this will eventually pass.
China is not only a populous and consumer-driven nation but also a highly developed and mature trading market, and “the purchasing power of the Chinese population remains robust, serving as an underlying force and hope for the domestic market’s development,” he said.
“Once the external environment improves, China’s domestic economic vitality will quickly strengthen, leading to accelerated development and an improvement in the consumer market as well,” he added.
