China's annual services trade fair, the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), will run from September 2 to 6 in Beijing, where about 60 companies and organizations will show their latest technological achievements, activating the global trade of services.
More than 2,200 enterprises have confirmed their attendance at the on-site exhibition, and the administration of the CIFTIS will continue to form multiple business groups for central government-owned enterprises and regional enterprises, Assistant Commerce Minister Chen Chunjiang told a press conference on Monday, noting that preparations are complete.
Compared with trade in goods, China is beefing up its trade in services, based on its unique advantages, Bai Ming, deputy director of the international market research institute at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Monday.
"Services targeting producers and consumers will both benefit amid China's advancing manufacturing sector and consumption upgrading," said Bai.
The CIFTIS this year will present achievements in cutting-edge fields including chips, quantum measurement and control, satellite remote-sensing controls, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital medicine.
About 60 enterprises and organizations will bring their latest products and technologies in AI, fintech, healthcare and cultural creativity.
In the first half of 2023, China's services trade expanded 8.5 percent year-on-year to 3.1 trillion yuan ($427.6 billion), Chen revealed.
Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, predicted that the application of digital technology and AI into services will be highlighted at the 2023 CIFTIS.
By 2030, digital technology will add 1.8 to 2 percentage points to growth in global services trade, said Wang Dongtang, another Commerce Ministry official, citing WTO data.
"In the first half of 2023, China's exports of digitally deliverable service products increased 16 percent, maintaining rapid growth," said Wang.
As a major international exhibition, experts said that the CIFITIS offers a platform to show the business opportunities that exist in the Chinese services market to the world.
The driving force from services trade to the Chinese economy is becoming more important, and the demand for consumer services is rising along with consumers' incomes, said Li.
"The CIFTIS will accelerate the development of services in both the producer and consumer sectors, upgrade the structure of national consumption and the country's manufacturing level, and facilitate international cooperation," he noted.
