CIFTIS:Using Action to Promote the Development of Trade in Services

By Lily Wang

CIFTIS （the China Inter- national Fair for Trade in Services） was held in Beijing in September， 2020. As the worlds first comprehensive exhibition of trade in services， CIFTIS has built a bridge of mutual communication and a transaction platform for tens of thousands of enterprises across the world.

CIFTIS was also the first international trade and economic event held offline by China since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. The event focused on the theme “global services and shared prosperity” and exhibited the achievements of Chinas trade in services. The Chinese government has used its practical actions to deepen international cooperation， stimulate the worlds economic development and promote global trade development.

Building bridges for business cooperation

The 2020 CIFTIS integrated the contents of the China （Beijing） International Cultural and Creative Industry Expo （ICCIE）， the China International Tourism Commodities Fair（CITCF）， the Beijing International Finance Expo （BIFE）， the World Winter Sports （Beijing） Expo， as well as the World Robot Conference（WRC） to create a new model that features various exhibition themes. It featured an exhibition model of“1+8+N”， including one comprehensive exhibition area， 8 featured exhibition areas and several functional service areas. It organized the 12 featured exhibitions and approximately 190 forums and business negotiations， and constructed transaction groups covering 80 state-owned enterprises， 16 state-owned financial enterprises and 38 provinces. Approximately 22，000 enterprises and institutions from 148 countries and regions have participated in the online and offline exhibitions. These participants included 33 international organizations， 68 foreign embassies， 110 business associations and 199 global top 500 enterprises.

At CIFTIS 2020， China Construction First Group Corporation Limited signed agreements regarding the Central City Star City Project of the Manila International Finance Headquarters and the Belgrade Sino-Serbia commercial complex project. The total contract value of the two projects amounts to RMB 21.2 billion.

“We would probably never be able to reach customers like BOE without participating in CIFTIS，” Okstar Chairman Wei Chengxian said， whilst praising the opportunities brought about for his company by CIFTIS.

Beijing？Okstar？Sports Industry Co.， Ltd. is a large-scale manufacturer specializing in outdoor fitness equipment. It has integrated capabilities for product design， manufacturing， sales service and brand operations. At present， it is undergoing a business transition towards becoming a solution provider integrating both hardware and software services.

Wei Chengxian explained that through the exhibition at CIFTIS， Okstar was able to sign cooperation agreements with 8 companies and institutions， including BOE， CDPF （the China Disabled Persons Federation） Shunyi Training Center， the Shanghai Administration of Sports and Tianjin Xiqing District Investment Group. The BOE project value amounts to RMB 5 million and the project group has already been established to provide comprehensive solutions. Other cooperation projects are also still underway.

“With our participation in CIFTIS， Zuoyebang increased our exposure to the media， extensively communicat-ed with other industry players， acquired a deeper knowledge of our users and reached a group of overseas customers，”said Gao Shuo， Assistant CEO and VP of Public Affairs of Zuoyebang， when sharing their achievements and experiences of participating in CIFTIS.

A gala for technological innovation

As a large-scale international and comprehensive exhibition and transaction platform， CIFTIS integrated comprehensive and featured exhibitions， online and offline exhibitions and indoor and outdoor exhibitions， in order to improve the exhibition experience and adapt to the requirements of pandemic control measures. It attracted the participation of a total of 5，926 enterprises and institutions from both home and abroad. The participants fully made use of 5G， big data， AI and other new technologies and financial innovation tools to empower new industries and applications. It is evident that the industrial developments are intermingled and undergoing transitions.

One of the biggest attractions of CIFTIS were intelligent robots and their wide applications in the fields of family life， logistics， health， business and environmental protection. A dozen companies from China， Switzerland， Japan， the U.S. and Israel exhibited their best products at the event.

For example， a？garbage？sorting？robot was able to sort and separate bread， cans， and wastepaper from a barrel of mixed garbage. An engineer working at the ABB exhibition stand said that this robot features automatic， AI and cloud computing technologies. It also utilizes deep learning and has a Pick-Master system for accurately tracking the conveyor movement and sorting via the coordinated robots. It also features Huaweis AI chip module and Huawei cloud services to achieve the automatic detection and sorting of the garbage.

When walking past the exhibition stand of Technoalpin equipment（Sanhe） Co.， Ltd.， the audience were instantly attracted to the snowflakes produced by the snow machine hanging in the air. “As the ski industry is booming， we are committed to producing high-quality snow to meet the demand presented by indoor ski fields in China. That requires new technological solutions to meet the special needs of indoor snow-making，” said Shen Yumei， Marketing Personnel from Technoalpin.

At the service robot exhibition area， automatic disinfection robots have become very popular. Candela Company brought a “candle” robot， the main function of which is disinfection. Working personnel at the exhibition area said that this robot can be applied to medical or property services. The robot carries a disinfection box and features automatic charging and unmanned driving technologies. It can perform whole-area disinfection 24/7 and does the same amount of work as four professional working members of staff. More importantly， it prevents disinfection fluid from harming the body.

The cultural service exhibition area was very popular

CIFTIS also presented a series of cultural service events. The cultural service featured exhibition area was also one of the most popular areas during the event.

Walking into the main exhibition area of the 15th ICCIE， which is also the cultural service featured exhibition area on the first floor of the China National Convention Center， the audience could marvel at the magnificence of the famous Beijing building as a national cultural center， with the majesty of the architecture being highlighted by a super-large L-shaped LED and interactive 3D screen.

As new heights are being reached in terms of comics and animation， the exhibition also showcased a hand-painted panoramic scroll on a wall-sized screen. “The Grand Canal Across Time and Space” presents both the ancient and modern features of the Tongzhou Canal section in Beijing， recreating the busy scenes of Tongzhou water transport that would have been seen in the Ming Dynasty， and fully showing the contemporary features of intertwining light and shadow in Beijing against a blue-green blended backdrop.

The exhibition displayed a wide range of cultural and museum products which were brought by more than 200 museums and exhibition centers. Beijings cultural service sector has been growing comprehensively， and the industry chain has been continuously extended. The whole situation has shifted from a one-company show， only featuring Palace Museum Cultural Innovation， to a symphony including many cultural players.

Culture empowers the whole industry， and in the future， 5G and other new technologies will also empower culture. Experts say that with wider 5G coverage， features of the technology such as high speeds， lower energy consumption， a low time delay， wide connectivity and reconstruction of a safety system will reshape the future of the cultural industry. Small dramatic plays or musical concerts may be broadcast live through 5G technology. There will be an audience numbering tens of millions of people from across the world immersed in a single performance.

The service industry now takes up half of the Chinese economy， and has also contributed almost half of the export volume. Trade in service has become a new driving force for Chinas foreign trade development， and also for world economic growth. CIFTIS， CIIE and the Canton Fair formulated the exhibition platform patterns for“Chinese manufacturing” and “Chinese service” in the new era. China has been advancing its reforms and opening-up of the service sector by advocating for the construction of an open world economy， optimizing the business environment and improving the service trade mechanisms. A bigger circle of business partners for Chinese trade is accordingly taking shape.