Tomorrow, the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (hereinafter referred to as the Fair for Trade in Services) will open in Beijing.
From the six Beijing Fairs from 2012 to 2019, to the Service Trade Fair since 2020, the Service Trade Fair has become a leading event in the field of global service trade in the past ten years. Together with the Canton Fair and the China International Import Expo, it constitutes China's opening up The three exhibition platforms closely connect China and the world, and inject Chinese energy into the world economic growth.
"The past ten years of the development of the CIFTIS have witnessed the rapid growth of China's service trade." At the press conference held by the State Council Information Office on August 23, Wang Dongtang, director of the Department of Trade in Services and Commercial Services of the Ministry of Commerce, said, Since the establishment of the Service Trade Fair, the level of specialization, marketization and internationalization has been continuously improved, which has played an important role in promoting the high-quality development of my country's service trade.
Create an important platform for opening to the outside world
The predecessor of the Service Trade Fair was the China (Beijing) International Fair for Trade in Services (abbreviated as Beijing Fair). In 2012, it was approved by the Party Central Committee and the State Council and co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the Beijing Municipal People's Government.
On May 28, 2012, the first Beijing Fair opened, and then Premier Wen Jiabao attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech.
Wen Jiabao said that the Beijing Fair is the world's first comprehensive international exhibition specially built for trade in services.
The establishment of such a fair is an important measure for China to expand its opening to the outside world and promote the rapid development of the service industry and service trade.
Data show that in 2011, my country's service industry accounted for 43.1% of the national economy, absorbing about 270 million jobs; the total value of trade in services exceeded 400 billion US dollars, ranking fourth in the world; the service industry attracted 55.2 billion US dollars of foreign investment, surpassing for the first time. Manufacturing industry has become the field that utilizes the most foreign capital.
Accelerating the development of the service industry is the main direction for China to transform its development mode and adjust its economic structure, and it is an inherent requirement for the continuous improvement of the living standards of urban and rural residents.
To this end, the Chinese government clearly stated in the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" that promoting the development of the service industry should be the strategic focus of optimizing and upgrading the industrial structure.
In this context, the Beijing Fair came into being, carrying the historical mission of promoting the development of the service industry and service trade.
The first Beijing Fair is positioned as a "national, international and comprehensive service trade fair", with an exhibition area of 50,000 square meters, all arranged in the National Convention Center, creating another important platform for China's opening to the outside world in the new era.
At the exhibition, the first Beijing Fair highlighted the transformation and upgrading of the industrial structure, focusing on displaying technologies and achievements in the fields of information communication, service outsourcing, energy conservation and environmental protection, logistics and transportation, business services, etc. Development achievements, and a new look of a group of Chinese service trade enterprises with independent intellectual property rights.
At the same time, the latest achievements and development ideas of the international service industry such as telemedicine and smart city solutions were also displayed.
All provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in the country have organized delegations to participate in the first Beijing Fair, which fully reflects the regional characteristics and development advantages.
It is worth mentioning that the first session of the Beijing Fair carried out the theme day of provinces and cities, the connection between provincial and city delegations and the theme day of the country, the connection between the organizer and the theme day of the country, the connection between the central enterprises and the theme day of the country, and the connection between the relevant units in Beijing and the country. The theme day docking provides multiple conveniences for transaction negotiation.
On August 25, the relevant person in charge of the Service and Trade Office of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce recalled Zhejiang's participation in the first Beijing Fair when interviewed by a reporter from the Beijing News.
He still remembered that the first Beijing Fair Zhejiang Pavilion had an exhibition area of 96 square meters, focusing on service outsourcing, cultural export, freight forwarding and logistics, financial services, software communication, service design, talent training, outsourcing parks and other fields.
The exhibitors include more than 40 enterprises including Zhejiang University Wangxin Group, Toshiba Information Machine Hangzhou Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Ltd., Huayi Brothers Media Co., Ltd., etc., which are divided into Hangzhou, Jinhua, Huzhou, Shaoxing, Jiaxing, Wenzhou, etc. The Zhejiang delegation has nearly 200 exhibitors and participants.
"The special decoration of the Zhejiang Pavilion is compact, delicate and graceful, and is known for its 'green'. The exhibition stand uses 16 electronic screens to play promotional videos, and new types of displays such as naked-eye three-dimensional and virtual and real 'augmented reality technology' have attracted a large number of audiences. Audience participation." The above-mentioned person in charge said that at the first Beijing Fair, Zhejiang Province set up a provincial and municipal theme day, and launched four sections of service trade overview, film and television culture, animation creativity and service outsourcing. Product introductions, animation performances, etc. comprehensively display the development achievements and blueprints of Zhejiang service trade.
"The theme day event was sponsored by the Zhejiang Provincial Government and specifically undertaken by the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce. A total of more than 300 representatives and experts from the field of service trade were organized to participate in the event, which became the most popular, largest and most effective theme of the first Beijing Fair. day activities.”
From Beijing Fair to Service Trade Fair
The results of the first Beijing Fair are also very bright.
According to the data released by the organizing committee, a total of 458 projects were signed in the first session of the Beijing Fair, with a transaction value of US$60.11 billion, of which the international intentional contract amounted to US$11.2 billion.
The Beijing Fair not only promotes the development of international service trade, but also greatly promotes exchanges and cooperation in the domestic service industry.
In 2013, the second session of the Beijing Fair issued the "Beijing Declaration", calling for support for developing countries to develop service industries and trade in services.
The declaration pointed out that the Beijing Fair is the world's first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to trade in services and comprehensively covering 12 major fields of trade in services, emphasizing that the service industry is one of the pillars of the economy, and the service economy can create a large number of employment opportunities.
From 2012 to 2014, the Beijing Fair was held for three consecutive sessions, initially forming a brand effect.
In 2014, the central government listed the Beijing Fair as a large-scale foreign-related exhibition, and adjusted it to every two years.
The "Several Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Service Trade" issued by the State Council in 2015 clearly stated that "to create a service trade exhibition pattern led by the Beijing Fair".
From the first to the sixth session, the transaction value of the Beijing Fair has continued to rise. In the sixth session of the Beijing Fair in 2019, the transaction value reached 105.06 billion US dollars, and the international intention to sign contracts exceeded 17.5 billion US dollars.
In 2019, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council approved the "China (Beijing) International Fair for Trade in Services" to be renamed "China International Fair for Trade in Services", still referred to as the Beijing Fair, which is held every year in Beijing.
In 2020, the abbreviation will be changed from "Beijing Fair" to "Service Trade Fair".
In the 2020 Service Trade Fair, the exhibition area will increase to 200,000 square meters, the number of events will increase from 130 to 190, the number of participating countries and regions will increase from 82 to 148, and the number of overseas exhibitors will increase from 218. There are 1076 online and offline companies, the number of Fortune 500 companies participating in the exhibition has increased from 36 to 199 online and offline, and the number of exhibitors has increased from 100,000 to more than 380,000.
Exhibitors and the Service Trade Fair are "growing" at the same time.
The Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce has organized groups to participate in the fair since the first Beijing Fair, and witnessed the process of the fair's growing scale and increasing influence.
The relevant person in charge of the Service and Trade Office of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce introduced that Zhejiang is a pathfinder for the digital economy and a pioneer area.
"For ten years, the Zhejiang exhibition area has been exploring the digitization of trade in services, from offline exhibitions to online and offline integration of exhibitions, from traditional profile display to digital display, from the traditional form of exhibition display to the diversification of exhibitions, releases, forums, etc. The superposition and upgrade of the form has improved from active participation to becoming the theme province and the guest province.” The person in charge introduced that in 2012, more than 40 companies participated in the Zhejiang exhibition area, with an exhibition area of 96 square meters; in 2021, Zhejiang trade There are 889 companies participating in the exhibition online and offline, with an exhibition area of over 300 square meters.
Zhejiang Huace Film and Television Co., Ltd. has also witnessed the ten years of the Service Trade Fair.
Xue Dingwen, the person in charge of the company, said that the Service Trade Fair has built a platform for external display, and listed the service trade as a separate meeting, so that the content of the film and television industry can be more easily highlighted, and the advantageous content can be displayed to more accurate customers.
"It is also a government-led event. By continuously appearing on such platforms, it helps to enhance overseas customers' awareness of the company's brand and expand its brand awareness and influence." Xue Dingwen said that the Service Trade Fair will also help Communication between peers helps companies understand industry trends and overseas market conditions.
Leading the new trend of service trade
Since 2020, due to the impact of the epidemic, economic globalization has encountered adverse currents, protectionism and unilateralism have risen, and China has chosen to face the difficulties.
In 2020 and 2021, President Xi Jinping delivered important speeches at the Global Service Trade Summit of the CIFTIS for two consecutive years, pointing out the direction for the development of my country's service trade and fully demonstrating my country's confidence and determination to promote a high level of opening up.
The Service Trade Fair, the Canton Fair and the my country International Import Expo have become the three major exhibition platforms open to the outside world in China.
In the field of trade in goods, the China International Import Expo focuses on imports, while the Canton Fair focuses on exports; the Service Trade Fair focuses on service trade. The three complement each other and form an exhibition promotion platform for the comprehensive development of "Made in China" and "China Service" in the new era. A new pattern of national exhibitions led by "North, Shanghai and Guangzhou" will be formed.
In 2020, the China Electronics Society began to participate in the preparation of the Service Trade Fair Digital Trade Summit Forum, and also undertook a special exhibition area for service robots and intelligent technology.
On August 27, Liang Liang, deputy secretary-general of the China Institute of Electronics, told the Beijing News reporter, "After the Beijing Fair was renamed the Service Trade Fair, we feel that from the conference to the exhibition, to the side event for docking and exchange, the overall level has been upgraded. It has opened a window for international exchanges for China's service trade." For the two consecutive service trade fairs and the upcoming 2022 service trade fair, from the perspective of the guests participating in the exhibition, the enterprises displayed in the exhibition, and the results achieved, the service trade fair Its influence in the international community is growing.
This point, he can clearly feel during the preparation process.
"For example, the organization of the forum exhibition is getting smoother and smoother. In the 2020 Service Trade Fair, we will focus more on invitations. This year, many exhibitors signed up voluntarily, and some guests even asked to give speeches at the forum."
In 2021, the CIFTIS will set up a special exhibition area for digital services for the first time. At the same time, it will also hold a digital trade summit forum and related professional conferences to comprehensively display digital and intelligent new technologies, new models, new formats, and new achievements, and build a global digital trade exchange. Display and trading platform.
The upcoming 2022 CIFTIS will set up a new topic on environmental services on the basis of the original 8 topics; at the same time, focusing on industry trends and hot topics such as open cooperation and green development, more than 100 summit forums, special forums and side events will be held. Forum meeting activities.
In the special exhibition of telecommunications, computer and information services, a Metaverse Experience Pavilion will be set up to display technologies and applications such as the Metaverse and the new generation of Internet, and promote the Metaverse from concept to application.
Liang Liang revealed that some robots related to service trade will come to the service trade fair at the just-concluded World Robot Conference. For example, agricultural picking robots will serve agricultural production. It's done in seconds.
"These intelligent equipment will play more roles in the service industry and service trade in the future." Liang Liang said that the Service Trade Fair is not only a platform for international exchanges, but also plays a more important role in promoting new trends in service trade. lead.
Through exhibitions, some new technologies and new applications are displayed, attracting public attention, and at the same time leading the industry to promote and industrialize.
From this point of view, the innovation of the CIFTIS is reflected in the entire industrial chain, including the upstream (from academia to technology) and downstream (supply side and application side) of the industrial chain.
Ewen Group's Shenshan Market entered the Service Trade Fair for the first time in 2020. It was amazed by the beautiful embroidery in London, and went out of the mountains to appear at the Service Trade Fair.
"We have innovatively developed traditional Chinese handicrafts, especially the exquisite handicrafts made by ethnic embroidered women in Guizhou and Yunnan, and displayed them at the service trade fair. The attention of the audience." Liu Wenling, vice president of Ewen Group's China Handicraft Workshop, told the Beijing News reporter that the audience's interest in traditional handicrafts exceeded their imagination. For example, at the 2021 Service Trade Fair, in just a few days, the sales of the exhibition area exceeded 70,000 yuan.
Through the platform of the Service Trade Fair, not only more companies and consumers know about Yiwen, but Yiwen also gets to know more partners in the field of culture and handicrafts.
Liu Wenling is also deeply touched by the leading role of the service trade in the industry.
She said that last year the CIFTIS highlighted the digital economy and this year highlighted green innovation, which is also a guide to the development trend of the service industry.
"For example, we have improved the original database, which contains more than 8,000 traditional Chinese ethnic patterns and information on more than 18,000 craftsmen, which will be displayed at the Service Trade Fair this year, which is also based on last year's cultural guidance. "Liu Wenling said that on the digital consumption experience side, consumers can select their favorite patterns from more than 8,000 patterns in the database of traditional aesthetic patterns of China Handicraft Workshop, and print them on clothing or bags, so as to make the traditional aesthetics in the most convenient way. Culture comes into life.
At the same time, Yiwen Group will make more efforts in innovation in the future, integrating the handicraft skills in the mountains with the urban cultural elements of Beijing, so that the stories passed down orally in the embroidery pieces can be understood by the world.” language".
Witness the development of China's service trade
On August 23, Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of Commerce, said at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that the construction of a new development pattern in my country is accelerating. In the past ten years, the added value of China's service industry has increased by 1.49 times, and the total amount of imported services has exceeded 4 trillion US dollars. , the super-large market advantage was further strengthened.
Wang Dongtang, director of the Department of Trade in Services and Commerce and Trade Services of the Ministry of Commerce, said that since 2012, my country's import and export of service trade has maintained a rapid growth momentum, with an average annual growth rate of 6.1%, 3.1 percentage points higher than the global growth rate.
The ranking of my country's service trade in the world has also risen from the third to the second, and has been ranked second in the world for eight consecutive years last year.
During the ten years from 2012 to 2021, the average annual growth rate of my country's knowledge-intensive services import and export reached 9.3%, and the proportion increased by 10.3%. The increase was 5.8 times, 3.2 times, 2.1 times and 1.6 times.
The scale of offshore service outsourcing increased by 2.9 times, and the service outsourcing industry accumulated employment of 11.27 million people.
Wang Dongtang pointed out that service trade has the characteristics of light assets and soft elements, and it needs an open, transparent, inclusive and non-discriminatory development environment, and requires countries to strengthen the coordination of rules and the connection of policies.
Since its establishment, the Service Trade Fair has held a global service trade summit every year, as well as a number of summit forums, special forums, industry conferences and other important activities to discuss the development frontiers and directions in the field of service trade, and release a series of authoritative reports and research results. Consensus of countries and industries.
According to preliminary statistics, the successive service trade fairs have held more than 1,000 activities of various types, strengthening multi-level and multi-channel cooperation in the service field for governments, international organizations, industry associations and enterprises around the world, as well as conducting rules dialogue, policy coordination and experience. The exchange has built an international public platform.
In addition, the CIFTIS has also injected new impetus into the development of global service trade.
In recent years, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation has emerged, and digital technology has widely penetrated into all aspects of production, circulation, and consumption, greatly improving the tradability of services.
Since its establishment, the Service Trade Fair has become an important platform for companies from all over the world to display and disseminate new formats, new models and new ideas for the development of service trade. It has released a number of new technologies, New applications, new achievements, new solutions.
More importantly, the Service Trade Fair has provided important support for the high-quality development of my country's service industry.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the scale of my country's service industry has continued to expand, and it has played an important role in optimizing the structure, promoting employment, and stimulating consumption.
At the same time, the problem of unbalanced and insufficient development of my country's service industry is still prominent. In particular, there is still a certain gap between the development level of modern service industries with high added value such as finance and technology compared with developed economies.
Since its establishment, CIFTIS has been committed to connecting domestic and foreign service markets. On the one hand, it promotes the "going out" of Chinese services and enhances the international competitiveness of Chinese services; on the other hand, it "brings in" foreign high-quality services to satisfy the needs of the people To meet the needs of a better life, promote industrial transformation and upgrading, and help build a high-quality, efficient, dynamic and competitive modern service industry system.
Written by Special Edition 04-Special Edition 05 / Beijing News reporter Chen Lin