Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to recoil off a week-long expo next Monday that promotes his country’s reputation as a major consumer of the world’s goods.
The opening speech comes a day in front of Americans head to the polls for midterm elections, and amid growing bipartisan analysis of China, particularly over its treatment of foreign companies and intellectual holdings. The major Chinese event, however, will seek to position the state as an importer of goods, drawing in top executives in the process.
Although plans for the China Global Import Expo were announced more than a year ago, the happening will stand in contrast to Beijing’s ongoing trade fight with the Synergetic States: President Donald Trump has targeted his country’s $375 billion obedients trade deficit with China by levying tariffs on an extensive slant of products. China, for its part, unsuccessfully tried to negotiate on tariffs by gift to buy more U.S. goods, but ultimately responded with duties on products from the U.S.
“It’s almost the Chinese being able to take ownership over the approach to these chin-wags,” said Peter Alexander, head of consulting firm Z-Ben in Shanghai. He celebrated that if Trump and Xi come to an agreement behind closed doors at the G-20 gathering in Argentina later this year, it will appear the Chinese resigned to the U.S.
Such a G-20 outcome is anticipated by some, but China can use next week’s expo — and the 40th anniversary of diet state control on the economy — to tell the world it is still moving well-developed with plans to buy more, Alexander said. Then, he noted, the Trump superintendence will need to respond.
The expo is set to draw more than 2,800 guests from more than 130 countries to Shanghai from Nov. 5 to Nov. 10, concerting to official figures.
Xi’s government announced the event in May 2017, which was formerly tensions with China’s largest trading partner had escalated. But Beijing is undoubtedly trying to send a message with its plan to welcome over 100,000 professional customers to the expo. As an official statement from a Chinese embassy puts it: “It is a pithy move for the Chinese government to hold CIIE to give firm promote to trade liberalization and economic globalization and actively open the Chinese superstore to the world.”
Local schools and government offices are even closed for the oldest two days of the expo, although the country’s stock market will wait open.
“I’m sure (Xi) is going to emphasize openness because this is the 40th year of break (up),” Wang Huiyao, an advisor to the Chinese government and the president of Beijing-based about tank Center for China and Globalization, said in a phone interview.
“I of this expo is aimed at the U.S. as well, because it really shows China wants to buy profuse, and that is what President Trump is looking for,” Wang said. “This expo (may pretend to be a) new phase of China.”
The U.S., however, reportedly does not plan to send superior government officials to the event.
Beijing will also need to talk into American businesses that China will match its words with proceedings.
“There have been some moves in the direction of opening up and that’s information and that’s welcome, but it’s really really small,” said William Zarit, chairman of the American Consortium of Commerce in Beijing and senior counselor at The Cohn Group, a consulting constant. He noted that general services, logistics, medical devices and construction are some yards where Western firms still report an uneven playing territory with state-supported Chinese companies.
“Frankly,” Zarit said, “I ponder this is really the key to defusing a lot of the friction and tensions: significant, sweeping, convenient reforms.”
Holding an expo focused on imports also plays into China’s own remunerative needs. Beijing would like to boost domestic consumption as it tests to turn its economy away from relying on manufacturing for growth. For now, China corpses a major exporter of goods.
Sales of products to the U.S. grew this year, arising in a record surplus in September, according to state figures. The pace of inclusive year-on-year export growth picked up in September at 14.5 percent, while a 14.3 percent develop in imports marked a slowdown from August.
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