Int'l services trade fair provides new opportunities for global service trade

A visitor (L) shops at the booth of Iran at an exhibition of Cultural and Tourism Services at the Shougang Park during the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 5, 2022. The 2022 CIFTIS closed on Monday. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

The 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) concluded here on Monday, achieving fruitful results and bringing new opportunities for global service trade, experts from various countries have said on Sept. 6.

Themed "Cooperate for Better Development, Innovate for a Greener Future," the 2022 CIFTIS featured greater internationalization, with the participation of over 7,800 companies online and more than 2,400 enterprises in-person, including 507 industry-leading enterprises and Global Fortune 500 companies.

Erwin Fernandez Balane, tourism counselor of the Philippine Embassy in China, said the CIFTIS "is a great platform" for the country to show its tourist destinations, agricultural products and opportunities for trade and investment.

"That's why three years in a row we have been participating in the CIFTIS," Balane said, adding that the fair has offered "a good opportunity to strengthen relationship and cooperation, especially for Asian countries participating in this event."

Andrew Carter, trade commissioner at the Australian Embassy in Beijing, said: "China is Australia's top trading partner and many Australian businesses are quite successful in exporting to the Chinese market."

Many Australian businesses will continue to look to China, Carter added.

A report entitled "Digital Trade: Development and Cooperation," which was released at the CIFTIS, shows that the global cross-border trade in digital services exceeded 3.8 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021, accounting for 63.6 percent of the total trade in services.

China's digital trade is developing rapidly, with its total imports and exports of digital services growing 22.3 percent year-on-year in 2021 to reach 359.69 billion dollars.

"The digital economy is important," said Lucas Candia, diplomat from the economic and trade section of the Argentine Embassy in China.

"We have seen in the COVID-19 pandemic that the more digital you are, the more resilience (resilient) your industries can be," Candia said.

Gianpaolo Bruno, director of the Beijing Office of the Italian Trade Agency, said that digital economy is a "new trend," and that "China is at the forefront of the technological frontiers in this respect."

"We want to engage with our Chinese counterparts. We want to learn and at the same time we'd like to get partnerships in order to strengthen our friendship and our cooperation with China," Bruno said.

Launched in 2012, the CIFTIS has in the past decade evolved into one of China's flagship platforms serving to promote opening-up and international cooperation.

Centered on green, low-carbon and sustainable development, this year's CIFTIS had 24 green-related forums and events to explore the path of global cooperation on green development.

Green development is "a very important theme" at this event, said Balane, adding that "people are more conscious now to use technologies that can save our planet. This is the right time for China to host an event like this."

Joseph Keating, trade counselor of the Irish Embassy in Beijing, said: "We all have to work together to move towards carbon neutrality in the world. It's really very important."

"The innovation for a greener future as an aspect for this year at the CIFTIS is timely, and I think we need to keep it to the forum not just this year but every year," said Keating.