Trade in services congress for Belt and Road Initiative supports CIFTIS

The China Beijing International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) committee office and the Chaoyang district in Beijing recently co-organized the first “Belt and Road Initiative” trade in services congress. Nearly 300 guests from all areas of industry, government, and academia gave suggestions for the fourth Beijing International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS).

More than 126 countries and regional guests attended the congress; most of them were national delegations from “Belt and Road Initiative” countries. The purpose of this CIFTIS is to promote the strategy of communication and cooperation between countries within the “Belt and Road Initiative” sphere of influence, said Cheng Hong, vice mayor of Beijing.

The opportunity arising from that strategy is not only the large number of infrastructure and manufacturing sector needs. It also stems from the fact that more than 60 countries and 4.4 billion people in the “Belt and Road Initiative” area are gradually developing a strong middle-class spending power, which is a significant opportunity for sale of consumer goods. China is well-positioned to take advantage of the historical opportunity of “Belt and Road Initiative” and to contribute to the development of global trade.

The director of the president’s office of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Chen Huan, says the bank is not an international organization serving only “Belt and Road Initiative” countries; its coverage extends further afield. It will, however, participate actively in qualified “Belt and Road Initiative” projects.

The president of the World Trade Point Federation, Bruno Masier, thinks CIFTIS is a good platform for his federation to communicate with enterprises from different countries and to look for more opportunities. He said the federation could also contribute to the “Belt and Road Initiative” strategy by building facilities in the affected countries.

Yu Miaojie, vice president of the National School of Development at Peking University, says as China is the biggest country for trade in goods, it is important to cooperate internationally with all Asian countries, not only with those in the "Belt and Road Initiative" area, and to reinforce cooperation with ASEAN 10 + 1 members.