2nd China International Consumer Products Expo opens in Hainan

Hainan International Convention and Exhibition Center, Haikou City, Hainan Province, July 23, 2022. Photo by CFP

The second China International Consumer Products Expo (Hainan Expo) starts on Monday in Haikou City, south China's Hainan Province.

The expo features an exhibition area of 100,000 square meters, hosting more than 2,800 local and international brands. The international exhibition area takes up 80 percent of the space, with more than 1,600 brands from 61 countries and regions participating.

The expo will run through July 30.

"Successfully holding the Hainan expo will provide an important boost for the continued recovery of consumption," China's Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said at the opening ceremony of the expo.

Despite the impact of COVID-19 this year, the Commerce Ministry is sticking to the strategy of expanding domestic demand. It has introduced a series of measures including promoting the sales of automobiles and smart home appliances.

China's retail sales of consumer goods grew 3.1 percent year on year in June, demonstrating a clear recovery trend, said Wang.

China is the world's second largest consumer market and the largest trader of goods. The country has taken various measures to promote the import of high-quality consumer goods. Official data showed that the total import of consumer goods hit 1.73 trillion yuan ($256 billion) in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 9.9 percent, accounting for about 10 percent of China's total imports.

The Ministry of Commerce pledged to keep on taking concrete actions to support trade liberalization, multilateralism in an effort to maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

The 1st China International Consumer Products Expo was held from May 7 to 10, 2021. The event attracted more than 30,000 buyers and professional visitors despite the COVID-19 pandemic.