Interview: CIIE offers “gateway” for shared growth, says Indonesian expert

This photo taken on Oct. 26, 2026 shows the south square of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), the main venue for the ninth China International Import Expo (CIIE), in east China’s Shanghai. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

The upcoming ninth China International Import Expo (CIIE) offers a “gateway” for international businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to tap into China’s vast market and build resilient global trade networks, an Indonesian expert has said.

“The good thing is that China gives opportunities to countries all across the globe to come,” Humprey Arnaldo Russel, head of the ASEAN-China Research Center at the University of Indonesia, told Xinhua in an interview ahead of the expo, scheduled to be held in Shanghai on Nov. 5-10.

Launched in 2018 as the world’s first national-level expo dedicated to imports, the CIIE aims to expand China’s opening up and provide businesses worldwide with access to its large market. This year’s edition will feature over 200 representative global debuts and first-time exhibits.

For smaller enterprises, entering a foreign market often involves navigating complex regulatory and compliance requirements. The CIIE helps address these challenges by providing a face-to-face platform for Indonesian SMEs to engage directly with Chinese businesses, Humprey said.

Indonesian businesses “can learn how to enter the Chinese market by meeting directly with their Chinese counterparts to discuss regulations,” he said. “Sometimes an opportunity exists, but you must first meet the market requirements.”

Amid ongoing shifts in global trade dynamics and unilateral tariff pressures, the Shanghai expo provides Indonesian exporters with “timely momentum” to diversify their export markets, build sustainable supply chains and integrate into broader economic ecosystems, Humprey said.

“Beyond accessing the Chinese market, our businesses can connect with international buyers and global distributors who convene in Shanghai. It is an invaluable platform for our export expansion,” he said.

Visitors try coffee at the pavilion of Ethiopia during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China’s Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. (Xinhua/Meng Chenguang)
Highlighting the participation of companies from around the world, including U.S. firms that have maintained a strong presence at the CIIE over the years, Humprey said, “I think countries across the globe want to see China and the United States cooperate with each other for a better world.”

“We need an open system where people with small and medium-sized enterprises, whether in Africa, Indonesia, Vanuatu, or Fiji, have the opportunity to trade across the globe based on WTO rules,” he said.

Emphasizing that trade serves as a bridge for cooperation, Humprey noted that stronger economic ties and their positive spillover effects can help narrow differences among nations.

“A shared future is a must, because the future does not belong only to us. It belongs to the next generation,” he said. “We have to prepare good things for them.”