CICPE 2024 will feature more than 4,000 brands from across the world, a number of thematic events and a variety of cultural and business activities

A major Chinese international show for consumer products, the fourth China International Consumer Products Expo is to open on Saturday in Haikou, capital city of South China's Hainan province.

The expo, also known as CICPE, which will last to Thursday, will be held across the province for the first time, with Hainan International Convention and Exhibition Center in Haikou serving as the main venue.

The event will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the provincial government of Hainan.

Sheng Qiuping, vice-minister of commerce, said at a recent news conference that this year's event will see an increased scale. The exhibition area will reach about 128,000 square meters, compared with 120,000 sq m at the previous session.

The expo will feature more than 4,000 brands from 71 countries and regions, assisted by Hainan's visa-free entry policy.

The official said that the event will be China's first significant international expo this year, as the country continues to promote consumption growth.

He said the expo, following the theme of "exhibiting throughout the island", will be held at multiple venues in Haikou and Qionghai.

In addition to the main exhibition area at the Hainan International Convention and Exhibition Center, the provincial capital is to hold a duty-free shopping show and an international sailboat and yacht exhibition. Meanwhile, the Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in the city of Qionghai will host a health consumption show.

More than 250 yachts and sailboats will be exhibited in an area of about 180,000 sq m at the Haikou National Sailboat Base. International exhibitors will include such renowned manufacturers as Princess Yachts from the United Kingdom, Bali from France, Azimut from Italy, Supra from the United States and Sunreef from Poland, as well as component providers like Suzuki and Yamaha from Japan.

The duty-free shopping show at the Haikou International Duty-Free Shopping Complex will showcase the business opportunities brought by Hainan's new efforts in opening-up, especially the campaigns in building Hainan Free Trade Port and promoting offshore duty-free shopping, Chen Huaiyu, vice-governor of the province, said at the same news conference.

Hainan began to develop itself into a free trade port in 2020, featuring trade assistance practices such as low tariffs, simplified customs procedures and offshore duty-free shopping throughout the island province.

Chen said Hainan has made great strides in advancing offshore duty-free shopping practice. Currently, there are some 150,000 types of duty-free products on sale in Hainan. In the past six years, total sales of duty-free products have exceeded 180 billion yuan ($24.88 billion).

"Next, we will attract a group of major international enterprises to settle in Hainan and build the province into a new highland of high-standard opening-up to the outside world," Chen said.

The main exhibition venue, which covers eight large exhibition halls at the Hainan International Convention and Exhibition Center, will continue to be a magnet to international suppliers and buyers. The event's organizers said this year's expo aims to showcase a diverse array of "new, novel and unique" consumer products, bringing together high-quality consumer goods from home and abroad.

Renowned enterprises, including Puig from Spain, Estee Lauder from the United States and CP Group from Thailand, as well as Moutai, Huawei and iFLYTEK from China, have confirmed their participation and are ready to unveil their latest offerings.

Twenty-eight domestically and internationally famed exhibitors will launch nearly 100 new consumer products during the expo, covering a range of industries.

Ireland will be the guest country of honor at this year's expo, with a dedicated exhibition hall serving as the national pavilion.

The Ireland country pavilion will be situated in Hall 4 of the Hainan International Convention and Exhibition Center, covering an area of 500 sq m. It will gather representatives from 29 participating companies and organizations, presenting over 200 exhibits from more than 50 Irish brands, covering such areas as beverages, food, fashion, agricultural tech, life sciences, high-end consumer products, high-tech innovation, education, investment and tourism.

The UK, Mongolia and Malaysia will showcase their products in the form of national exhibition groups for the first time.

Countries and regions such as Japan, South Korea, Italy, Canada and Switzerland will also organize national and regional pavilions at the expo.

Meanwhile, 11 member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will participate in the expo this year to explore business growth opportunities in China.

The RCEP agreement, which took effect in January 2022, has helped to boost regional economic growth both in China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2023, the global trade value of goods between Hainan and RCEP members exceeded 80 billion yuan, up 37.9 percent from the 2021 levels.

Among domestic exhibition groups, the Hainan delegation will establish a provincial pavilion of about 800 sq m.

The event's organizers said all the provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China are sending delegations to the expo. Guizhou, an inland province in Southwest China, for instance, is arranging 24 consumer product suppliers to the show, exhibiting products covering such areas as alcoholic beverages, tea, food and handicrafts with ethnic characteristics.

In addition to exhibitions, there will be a number of thematic events including the Global Consumer Innovation and Duty-Free and Tourism Retail Conference, and the China (Hainan) — Ireland Life Sciences Exchange and Matchmaking Conference.

There will also be activities ranging from business matching events to new product launches and policy briefings.

During the event, Hainan will host a variety of cultural, artistic and gourmet activities, allowing visitors to experience Chinese culture, the charm of Hainan Island and an international lifestyle as a result of Hainan's evolution into a free trade port.

The expo aims to promote global collaboration and innovation, cementing its role as a significant platform for consumer product exchange and development, the event's organizers said.