China’s importers sign record US$83.5 billion in deals at trade expo

Chinese companies signed a record US$83.5 billion in import deals at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, reinforcing the importance of mainland consumers as growth drivers for global businesses and the world economy less than two weeks after the US and China reached a trade truce.

The total – the fifth straight record high for the annual six-day event, which concluded on Monday – represented a 4.4 per cent increase from a year earlier, according to the organiser, the CIIE Bureau.

“Chinese companies have increased purchases of foreign-made goods that local consumers desire and need,” said Ding Haifeng, a consultant at Shanghai-based financial advisory firm Integrity. “The trade pact between the world’s two largest economies gave foreign manufacturers and local merchants much confidence in concluding deals.”

According to the CIIE Bureau, a unit of the Ministry of Commerce, the contracts were preliminary, and some of the deals might not be finalised. Many of the contracts were pre-signed before the expo opened on November 5.

The organiser did not provide details about the deals, but exhibitors and visitors said consumer products ranging from food and drink to hearing aids saw significant increases despite sluggish spending by mainland consumers.

Addressing more than 1,000 government officials, business leaders and merchants at the opening of the CIIE on Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang pledged to further open the country’s vast consumer market to international businesses.