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Foreign Businesses Expressed Mixed Views Toward China's Import Expo in
Shanghai

Joyce Huang

   China wrapped up its second International Import Expo on Sunday a
   six-day trade show in Shanghai, which has attracted the participation
   of more than 3,800 companies from 180 countries.

   While acknowledging Beijing's efforts to open up its vast market,
   exhibitors expressed mixed views toward whether the import-themed
   national-level expo lived up to their expectations.

   And it remains to be seen if the Chinese authorities' top-down approach
   to opening-up its market and its reform initiatives can be fully
   implemented at local levels, observers say

   "Local authorities still keep strongly protectionist policies, which
   are opaque and have posed a worse trade barrier than tariffs. This is a
   big problem. It will be a huge and questionable task if local
   governments will fully execute the top leadership's [open-up] policy,"
   said Liu Meng-chun, director of the Chung-Hua Institution of Economic
   Research's mainland China division in Taipei.

   Market open-up

   [1]Addressing the expo's opening ceremony last Tuesday, Chinese
   President Xi Jinping pledged to further open up the Chinese market and
   urged global leaders to join hands in resisting protectionism.

References

   1. https://www.ciie.org/zbh/en/news/highlights/20191105/19895.html

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