(Yicai) Nov. 6 -- The annual China International Import Expo has become an important chance for global companies to find new commercial openings, with an increasing number of top executives attending the trade show in person.

The CIIE allows firms to showcase new products and technologies and also speak with government officials, consumers, and the media, said Yann Bozec, president for the Asia-Pacific at US fashion multinational Tapestry, Coach’s parent company.

Bozec told Yicai that company representatives have attended the CIIE for six straight years, adding that the New York-headquartered company can get direct feedback on its products and services at the event and can monitor market trends.

William Yu, China president for US conglomerate Honeywell, echoed these sentiments, saying the CIIE has long been the first launch site for Honeywell's innovative products. It also offers a chance for high-level dialogue and to develop more cooperation, he added.

The CIIE is a platform for overseas firms to communicate with a whole ecosystem covering the government, the upstream and downstream sections of the industrial chain, and with consumers, according to Maximilian Foerst, president and chief executive officer of Carl Zeiss China.

This gives multi-business firms such as Germany’s Carl Zeiss the chance to achieve crossover innovations, he told Yicai.

Seven years ago, over 90 percent of the exhibits at the CIIE were imports, but about half of the exhibits at this year’s show are products jointly developed by multinational and Chinese firms, Foerst said. He also noted that Carl Zeiss is ready to launch products globally which were developed locally as its research, development, and production base in the Chinese city of Suzhou started operating in July this year.

The seventh CIIE opened in Shanghai yesterday, with 152 countries, regions, and international organizations participating. The event, which is the world's first national-level import-themed trade fair, has attracted a record 297 Fortune 500 companies this year, and more than 400 new products are on display, along with new technologies and services. It will run to Nov. 10.

Good Regulatory Environment

Innovative technology is thriving in China, and there are favorable regulations for the biomedicine industry, said Helen Zhu, vice president of Sanofi China. This encourages multinational pharmaceutical companies to debut advanced products at the CIIE every year, she added.

Industrial forums held during the CIIE also allow firms to study and discuss industry regulation policies as well as suggest possible regulatory changes, she said. This creates a good environment for innovation and R&D, as well as helping to integrate China into the global market, Zhu noted.

China is very important, both for its market and for brand development, according to Toshinobu Umetsu, president and CEO of cosmetics supplier Shiseido China. He said he remains confident in the Chinese economy, despite a recent contraction in China's makeup market.

In recent years, Shiseido has benefitted from China’s policy environment and encouragement of innovation, Umetsu pointed out, adding that the Tokyo-based company is launching new products in the Chinese market as well as developing new products to meet the tastes of local customers.

Shiseido will continue its investment and will build its second-biggest R&D center in China, he added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Tom Litting