Benefits and potential of BRICS take center stage at key event

As a large-scale international fair CIFIT will facilitate achievements of previous summit

The key subject of the BRICS nations is highlighted at the 2017 China International Fair for Investment and Trade, being held in Xiamen in eastern Fujian province from Sept 18-21.

The BRICS nations are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

As a large-scale international business event taking place after the BRICS Summit, which was held in early September, the CIFIT expo will help implement the achievements of the former.

CIFIT will also allow the charms of the city of Xiamen to be displayed to the world again.

A series of trade promotions were approved at the summit to enhance the investment, trading and economic technology cooperation among BRICS countries.

Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce showed that total investment among the five countries only contributed 6 percent to their outbound investment, with a great deal of potential for future growth to be realized in the future.

To construct a better investment environment among the BRICS countries, an official document was released at the summit. Its contents included building a more transparent policy system and improving the efficiency of administrative management.

The four other BRICS nations, together with countries including Mexico, have pavilions at the CIFIT covering a total area of 1 square kilometer to show off their goods.

They have also organized a series of trade networking events to introduce their investment environments and projects to visitors.

A BRICS e-commerce forum will be held, to boost cooperation in innovative industries including big data.

It will also promote collaboration and development of small and medium sized companies in the BRICS and Asian countries.

A Sino-India service trade promotion working meeting will be held too. In addition, the Alabuga special economic zone of Russia will attend the conference, about Chinese companies going global. South Africa will also hold an event to attract investment.

Huang Maoxing, an economics expert at Fujian Normal University, said more countries and companies would establish businesses with Fujian after the BRICS Summit, from broader and more diverse fields.

Statistics from the Department of Commerce of Fujian showed the province's trade with the four BRICS countries reached 49.4 billion yuan ($7.53 billion) from January to June, up 67.7 percent year-on-year.

Some 63 BRICS-owned companies in Fujian contributed investments of up to $500 million.

An offshore wind power generation project attracted loans from the New Development Bank for 2 billion yuan, making it the first Fujian project to borrow money from the institution.

This year, Fujian invited BRICS representatives in Beijing and Shanghai to visit the province. The idea was to get local companies to visit BRICS countries, to boost trade and business deals.

Huang said now Fujian still has many companies that are working in traditional labor-intensive industries and manufacturing industries with less technical capability.

The summit will help local companies learn more about the BRICS countries and trends in the global economy, to promote their brands and achieve sustainable development.

The Belt and Road Initiative is still a hot word at the fair, according to Wang Qiongwen, director of the Convention and Exhibition Affairs Bureau of Xiamen.

"It is the task of the fair to carry on with the Belt and Road Initiative, and lead a new trend in investment," Wang said.

Back in 2014, Malaysia, as main guest country of honor on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and Xinjiang, as the guest province of honor, appeared together at the CIFIT. This year, the fair has a special exhibition themed on the Belt and Road Initiative, to display investment opportunities connected to the initiative.

Georgia, ASEAN countries and Ningxia will be highlights of the fair.

Important forums include the Belt and Road international cooperation summit forum, a Belt and Road cooperation opportunity forum, a Hong Kong investment seminar, and a Belt and Road infrastructure and international productivity cooperation forum.

More countries and investors involved in the Belt and Road Initiative will benefit from CIFIT, and use Fujian as a pivot in future business deals with Chinese inland regions, according to the organizers.

CIFIT has also become an important platform for Fujian province to attract foreign investment.

Statistics show that the Fujian delegation signed contracts worth $56.2 billion from 2012-16, with $35.3 billion approved by the government. That accounts for 62.7 percent of all foreign investment in the province.

(China Daily 09/19/2017 page18)