CIIE 2023: Premier Li Qiang to reach out to global businesses as Beijing seeks to mend economic ties with the West
- Chinese Premier Li Qiang will deliver a keynote speech at the China International Import Expo, the first appearance by a top leader since President Xi Jinping in 2019
- This year’s event has attracted a record 3,400 exhibitors, who will display their wares spread over an area of 367,000 square metres
The premier, a key figure behind the annual trade show that began in 2018, is likely to extend an olive branch to global businesses and investors to bolster China’s cross-border trade and inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), according to three people briefed on the matter.
Li’s presence at the CIIE, a six-day event which runs up to next Friday, comes as the US is sending its strongest-ever delegation, led by Jason Hafemeister, acting deputy undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs. The delegation will promote American-made goods at the expo, which is widely used by Beijing to highlight its consumer market and fight against decoupling efforts.
Li was Shanghai’s Communist Party secretary in 2018 and led preparations for the first edition of CIIE to show China’s willingness to liberalise its vast market.
The organisers said dozens of global heads of major international companies, including Rio Tinto’s Jakob Stausholm and Louis Dreyfus’ Michael Gelchie, have confirmed their attendance at the event, which has attracted 3,400 exhibitors and nearly 400,000 accredited visitors.
