European manufacturers to become main force of CIIE equipment exhibitors

While there were still some US companies showing up at an exhibitors and buyers matchmaking event in Shanghai on Thursday, European manufacturers seem to have become the main force among equipment exhibitors for the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) against the background of the escalating US-China trade battle.

A total of 95 exhibitors in processing equipment, industrial components, manufacturing materials, and high-tech manufacturing attended the pre-expo matchmaking meeting on Thursday, of which nearly 70 percent were from Europe.

Against the backdrop of the US-China trade war, strengthening China-Europe industrial cooperation is a choice that is benefiting both sides. At present, China-EU relations are sound, with bilateral trade totaling 2.3 trillion yuan ($326.4 billion) in the first half of this year, up 11.2 percent year-on-year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

Besides, the success of the first CIIE is a major reason for many European companies' enthusiasm for the second one.

"Last year's import expo brought us an effect far beyond our expectations. Most importantly, it gave our brand a great promotion in the Chinese market. In fact, we have been in the Chinese market for more than a decade, but the promotion effect of the six-day expo is something we were not able to reach over the years," Daniell Chen, chief representative of Ferretti Group, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Ferretti Group was the only yacht manufacturer that participated in the first CIIE. This year, the Italian company will showcase its bigger official business yachts, instead of the smaller luxury yachts last year, with the hope of attracting attention from some local governments.

Germany's HAINBUCH GmbH Spannende Technik also benefited greatly from last year's CIIE.

"We are about to sign a big order with a centrally administered State-owned enterprise, which will be the biggest order since we entered the Chinese market," Amy Chen, general manager assistant at HAINBUCH Shanghai Co Workholding Technology, told the Global Times on Thursday. "The import expo is a platform for government bodies and large State-owned enterprises to get to know us."

There are companies like Aquatherm GmbH that missed last year's import expo and are looking forward to new business opportunities at the second CIIE. "We have been in China for 19 years, and we wish to obtain orders from bigger clients like large State-owned enterprises through the import expo," Caden He, product manager at Aquatherm Pipe System (Shanghai) Co, told the Global Times on Thursday.

According to government officials, the exhibits in the CIIE equipment area are of great importance for the industrial upgrading of the manufacturing sector and for the high-quality economic development in China.

In recent years, China's equipment manufacturing industry has continued to expand, especially in the high-end and smart manufacturing areas, leading to growing demand for sophisticated products and technologies. Thus, as a global manufacturer, China needs high-quality production equipment and needs to import advanced equipment, Liu Jingzhi, deputy director of the Market Operation Department of the Ministry of Commerce, told the event on Thursday.