THE Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) announced it will be participating in the China International Import Expo (CIIE) next year.
CCCI president Melanie Ng said the chamber will take the lead in encouraging more Cebuano entrepreneurs to join one of China’s first and biggest expos.
“We want to make sure that Cebu will be well represented during the expo,” said Ng, who will spearhead the trade mission.
“In fact, we are already coordinating with the Chinese Consulate of Cebu, as well as with different government agencies to ensure we will have an active participation,” she added.
Slated on Nov. 5 to 10, 2018 in Shanghai, the international import expo will showcase two exhibitions, one on the Belt and Road countries’ trade and investment, including their goods and services, tourism, and featured products, and the other on varied business sectors, including consumer electronics, auto, clothing, food, medical equipment, service outsourcing and education.
It will be attended by state leaders, ministers, heads of international organizations, business representatives and scholars.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Shanghai Municipal Peoples’ Government will host the event.
The CIIE was created after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China will host the import expo starting 2018 at the opening ceremony of the two-day Belt and Road Forum.
Ng said the upcoming expo is a good avenue for Cebuano entrepreneurs to look for potential investment partners, as well as source new products and services and exchange best practices.
“With our active participation, we would be able to ride with China’s growth,” said Ng, adding that China’s middle class has been expanding.
Ng said the chamber will continue joining activities that will deepen Cebu’s ties with Japan and China.
“What we’ve observed this year is that visits or trade missions to Cebu by some foreign investors have follow-ups, which means foreign countries have put Cebu and the Philippines closer to its radar as far as trade and investments are concerned,” the CCCI official said.