CIIE demonstrates opportunities and potential of Chinese market: China Daily editorial

There is a selective myopia in the way some in the West discuss China, focusing too sharply on its export capabilities while overlooking what the world's second-largest economy imports and the opportunities its vast market offers foreign businesses. As protectionism and unilateralism disrupt the global trading system, the ninth China International Import Expo, opening in Shanghai on Thursday, offers a useful corrective lens for this shortsightedness.

Since its inception in 2018 as the world's first national-level exhibition dedicated to imports, the CIIE has evolved into an international public good: a platform through which businesses, economies and developing countries can gain access to China's development opportunities. This year's event has attracted 4,142 overseas exhibitors from 148 countries and regions, including more than 2,000 first-time participants. That is hardly the profile of a market "taking advantage of" others.

The persistence of the so-called "China Shock" narrative rests on an inversion. China's manufacturing competitiveness is falsely presented as a "threat", while the benefits of its enormous market, comprehensive industrial ecosystem and growing demand are routinely pushed into the background. The result is a political construct that turns economic interdependence into a zero-sum contest.

The facts tell a different story. China's foreign trade in goods reached 39.94 trillion yuan ($5.94 trillion) in the first three quarters of 2026, up 18.8 percent year-on-year. More tellingly, imports grew by 22.3 percent to 16.74 trillion yuan, outpacing the 16.4 percent increase in exports to 23.2 trillion yuan.

This is not the typical picture of an economy interested only in selling to the rest of the world.

Nor is the story confined to merchandise. China's imports and exports of services rose 8.5 percent to 5.77 trillion yuan during the same period year-on-year. Services exports increased by 14.8 percent to 2.27 trillion yuan, while imports reached 3.5 trillion yuan. The services trade deficit narrowed by 132.66 billion yuan year-on-year. These figures suggest an economy whose international integration is becoming more sophisticated, extending well beyond factories and shipping containers.

The CIIE makes these opportunities tangible. For African merchants, participation helps them replace intermediaries with direct relationships with Chinese buyers. German logistics company Jungheinrich now uses its Shanghai manufacturing base to serve 42 countries and regions. That shows access to China can generate business, investment and innovation far beyond China itself.

The benefits are not reserved for multinational corporations. This year's expo has increased free exhibition space for least developed countries by 17 percent. China's extension of eligible zero-tariff treatment to goods from 53 African countries also provides a wider framework for developing countries to expand their exports.

The broader context matters, too. At the 37th APEC Ministerial Meeting on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao called on member economies to uphold free trade, strengthen regional integration and advance cooperation in openness, innovation and sustainable development. More than 300 meetings and events have been successfully held during the APEC "China Year", producing a series of cooperation outcomes. The theme of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen in November, "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together", captures an alternative to the fragmentation now threatening global supply chains.

China's pursuit of high-quality development that is innovation-driven, sustainable and inclusive means its industrial upgrading, structural adjustment, domestic demand and high-standard opening-up will continue to create cooperation opportunities and development dividends for other economies.

The world has far more to gain from recognizing the "China Opportunity" than from the "China Shock" falsehood that some use to obscure it.