Column: The CIIE and the quiet work of inclusive trade

Résumé détaillé

The China International Import Expo (CIIE) reversed that logic by inviting the world to sell to China. As the ninth edition concluded in Shanghai this week, it is worth asking…

When China announced in 2017 that it would host an expo devoted entirely to imports, the idea struck many observers as unusual. Trade fairs have traditionally been instruments of export promotion, that is, a way for a country to sell its products and services to the world.

The China International Import Expo (CIIE) reversed that logic by inviting the world to sell to China. As the ninth edition concluded in Shanghai this week, it is worth asking what that reversal has meant in practice, particularly for the smaller enterprises and developing economies that are usually the last to benefit from globalization.

The value of a public good lies less in its scale than in who can use it. Large multinationals have never needed an expo to reach Chinese consumers. They have distribution networks, legal teams and marketing budgets that allow them to navigate a complex market on their own terms. The firms that struggle are the small producers of coffee, spices, handicrafts, processed foods and specialized components, whose products may be competitive but whose reach is constrained by costs, information gaps and limited access to buyers. For these enterprises, the problem is rarely the quality of what they make. It is the distance between a good product and a willing buyer.

This is where the CIIE has made its most meaningful contributions. By bringing buyers, distributors, regulators and logistics providers together in one venue for six days, the expo lowers the cost of finding business partners for both sides. A small firm that would otherwise spend years building contacts can meet, during the expo, the importers, e-commerce platforms and procurement officers it needs to reach the market.

Equally important is the participation of multilateral organizations, including the World Trade Organization, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the United Nations Development Programme.

For Southeast Asia, the relevance is particularly clear.

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