The first Consumer Expo after the entire Hainan island's customs closure operation will be held, with the proportion of international exhibits increased by 20 percentage points.

On March 30, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to brief on matters related to the Sixth China International Consumer Goods Expo. At the conference, Sun Qiuping, Vice Minister of Commerce, said that this year’s CIIE will be held in Hainan from April 13 to 18, and compared with previous editions, the share of international exhibits has been increased to 65%. Meanwhile, products such as new split-type flying cars, intelligent robots, and smart culture-and-sports public bus stops will make their debut.

Sun Qiuping said that this year’s CIIE is both the “first exhibition” of major fairs in China in the opening year of the “15th Five-Year Plan,” and also the “first showcase” after Hainan’s entire free trade port has entered full customs-bonded closure operations. Compared with previous editions, the internationalization level of this year’s CIIE has been further improved, and high-quality consumer supply and debut products will be even more diverse.

On the international front, Sun Qiuping said that this year’s CIIE will feature more than 3,400 brands from over 60 countries and regions, with international exhibit items accounting for 65%, up by 20 percentage points from last year. Official delegations from 12 countries (regions), including Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Ireland, will take part. Countries such as Russia and Bulgaria will set up national pavilions for the first time. At the same time, this year’s CIIE will build a global platform for first releases of premium consumer goods, and organize a series of global first launches, Asia-Pacific first exhibitions, and China debuts. For example, products such as new split-type flying cars, intelligent robots, and smart culture-and-sports public bus stops will all be unveiled at this year’s CIIE.

After Hainan’s entire free trade port entered full customs-bonded closure operations last year, policies such as “zero tariffs, low tax rates, and simplified tax systems” have enabled exhibits to clear customs quickly, be displayed under bonded status, be promoted and sold on the spot, and be sold tax-free, directly turning “exhibits into goods.”

Sun Qiuping said that this year’s CIIE will leverage the policy advantages of the free trade port to help the Expo become the best testing ground for nurturing new growth points in consumer demand and promoting upgrades in consumption. For example, the Sanya yacht exhibition area will build a concentrated display and transaction platform for yachts. With the boost from Hainan’s yacht industry reform and development innovation pilot zone and policies such as “zero tariffs” on yachts, it will roll out a series of featured consumer scenarios that integrate “yachts + low-altitude aviation,” “yachts + scuba diving,” and “yachts + wedding photography.”

“We are also coordinating with relevant departments to accelerate research and the formulation of several measures to expand yacht consumption. While ensuring safety, we will enhance the supply capacity for yacht and other private vessel consumption, and promote the yacht industry’s transition toward mass-market consumption and large-scale development,” Sun Qiuping revealed.

On May 7, 2021, the first CIIE opened in Hainan. Over the past five years, the Expo has gradually developed into a “bellwether” for leading consumption upgrades, a “bridgehead” for high-level opening up to the outside world, and an “accelerator” for the development of Hainan’s free trade port.

Regarding the overall arrangements for boosting consumption this year, Yang Mu, Director of the Market Operation and Consumption Promotion Department of the Ministry of Commerce, responded that the Ministry of Commerce will focus on promoting an expansion and upgrade of goods consumption, releasing the potential of services consumption, boosting offline consumption, and energizing the vitality of consumption in lower-tier markets.

“During this year’s Spring Festival, driven by the ‘Shop for New Year’ campaign, the growth rate of offline brick-and-mortar retail surpassed that of online by 3.9 percentage points, which shows that the potential of offline consumption is still very large,” Yang Mu said. This year, the Ministry of Commerce will also further energize offline consumption by holding a variety of pro-consumption activities to create diversified and integrated consumption scenarios. In addition, the growth rate of rural consumer goods retail sales has already been faster than that of urban areas for 8 consecutive months. The Ministry of Commerce will also, based on conditions in different regions, adopt measures tailored to local circumstances and implement categorized policies to accelerate the release of consumption potential in lower-tier markets.