Paul Tembe
Since a decade ago, China has managed to rid itself of the title “manufacturing factory of the world” to become a platform for global brand promotion. The new role played by China in promoting global brands has coincided with the era of growth based on local consumption in China.
It is within these circumstances that China established the China International Import Expo (CIIE). The CIIE has come to serve as a platform for brand promotion for goods by foreign brands and companies that seek to compete for market share in the thriving Chinese market space. In a similar manner that China attracted foreign direct investments (FDI) during the early stages of the reform and opening-up, it is now attracting foreign global brands that aim to secure a market share in the rapid-growing economy founded on domestic consumption.
China's booming market and great potential has been a magnet for many foreign companies, and the CIIE is deemed as an important platform to deepen their roots in the Chinese market.
Notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic, business opportunities at the CIIE have attracted 2,900-odd global exhibitors to Shanghai, the Chinese financial hub. Over 40 Fortune Global 500 companies and leading enterprises made their debut at the 4 th CIIE. Hundreds of new products, technologies and services were introduced to the Chinese market for the first time, most of which made their world debut.
CIIE is an open collaborative platform where Chinese enterprises can cooperate and compete with diverse foreign companies to find opportunities and form partnerships. CIIE has become a global default place to establish and share business and economic opportunities. By the year 2021, the CIIE has attracted more than 127 countries to participate. The CIIE enjoys hundreds of global firms that are fixtures at the expo. Official data showed that up to 80 percent of the world’s top 500 companies that participated in the first three expos were again present during the year 2021.
Majority enterprises were not only attracted by China’s booming market and great potential, but also the power of trade itself. Despite the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world and crippling the global economy, face-to-face trading like what happens at the CIIE also means boosting people’s confidence and pooling efforts for a post-pandemic recovery.
President Xi Jinping positioned the CIIE as a platform aiming to turn the Chinese market into a market for the world, a market shared by all, and a market accessible to all".
Xi regards the CIIE as a major platform for international procurement, investment promotion, cultural exchanges and open cooperation. CIIE also serves as a platform for creating bonds that go beyond merely business interaction and opportunities. During the pandemic, the CIIE has come to offer a mirror into a possible impetus for post-pandemic recovery. The CIIE also functions as a platform for tackling difficult problems through cooperation while fostering a brighter future for diverse businesses and entities from all around the world.
Is it possible for South Africa to learn from the successes of the CIIE to ride the tide of its ongoing recession or as a means to promote local industries with the aim to position itself as an investment preferred location? The answer to the above question is clear as the light of day.
South Africa ought to leverage on its position of comprehensive strategic partnership with China to draw lessons and support in order to draw direct foreign investment and position itself as a preferred market for potential global brands. South Africa ought to revive its manufacturing prowess so that direct foreign investors and brands can manufacture locally, providing much needed employment and technological know-how. Learning from China, South Africa ought to set pre-requisitions for foreign brands to invest and earn profit in the country.
One of the foundational pre-requisites ought to be that of knowledge exchange from foreign investors and brands aimed at empowering local youths.
In the year of 2020, as the world's second largest importer for 12 consecutive years and a major export destination for many countries and regions, China has added impetus to the global economy and provided opportunities for global development. From 2018 to 2020, the total intended transaction volume of the previous three editions of the CIIE was about 201.6 billion U.S. dollars, making a positive contribution to international trade. This is a fertile market that South Africa and its regional partners ought to court and cajole so as to benefit the export capacity of the region. The National Development Plan 2030 (NDP 2030) makes provisions for South Africa to engage China or any other trade partner as an asset towards local economic developmental goals.
China stays true to the words of President Xi when he urges China to unswervingly uphold true multilateralism, share market opportunities with the world, advance high-level opening-up and safeguard the common interests of all countries. President Xi concludes his speech on CIIE successes by declaring that “striving to be an increasingly mature contributor to global development, China, will remain resolute in making economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all. The statement is backed by other successes beyond those of the CIIE to encompass those of FOCAC, BRICS and the overarching Belt and Road Initiative.
The successes of the above-mentioned cooperation and economic frameworks together point to a long-term and successful building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Tembe is a Sinologist and founder of SELE Encounters.