CIIE to showcase high-tech products

SHANGHAI/BRUSSELS－A number of high-tech products will be exhibited for the first time at the China International Import Expo (CIIE), according to the organizing committee.

Six global leading companies in fields such as helicopters, food, sports and service trades signed a participation contract with the CIIE Bureau on Friday.

Sweden-based Elekta will have a China-debut of a new radiation therapy system featuring field magnetic resonance technology. The product will be marketed in Europe and the United States this year.

According to Liu Jianbin, vice-president at Elekta Instrument (Shanghai), the company will also exhibit its latest self-adaptive accurate stereotactic radio-surgery treatment system, which will soon be used in hospitals across China.

Togashi Shigeru, chief representative of China at NACHI (Shanghai), said the intelligent manufacturing company would bring several newly developed robots, including an industrial robot that can work with human efficiency.

The first CIIE will be held in Shanghai in November and is expected to bring together thousands of enterprises from more than 100 countries. More than 250 companies have sent letters of intent to participate in the event, according to CIIE organizers.

The expo "is hugely beneficial" to Belgian businesses as it offers opportunities, said a Belgian business leader.

Bernard Dewit, head of the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said this during a conference held in Brussels on Friday to provide information about the first such expo to be hosted by China. More than 200 representatives from political and business circles in the European Union attended the conference.

"The expo is hugely beneficial because it allows for contact between Chinese businesses and local customers and producers and buyers; that is something that will save us a lot of time. And if infrastructure can be improved and with better communication, there will be great opportunities on the horizon, in particular for Belgium's small and medium-sized companies," he said.

Addressing the conference, Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Qu Xing said competitive Belgian commodities and service products are welcome to enter the Chinese market. According to the ambassador, China-Belgium trade totaled $23.3 billion in 2017, up 7.8 percent year-on-year. Today, China is Belgium's second largest non-EU trade partner.

Ari Epstein, head of the Antwerp Diamond Center, believes the CIIE will provide opportunities for Belgian businesses to increase trade and establish long-term relations with Chinese companies.