SHANGHAI, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- For many global businesses, unveiling a new product or technology is more than showcasing innovation. It is also about reaching the right market.
Austrian machine tool maker WFL Millturn Technologies knows this well. To make its Asian debut, the company's massive new machining center crossed continents and oceans, traveling for more than two months before arriving in Shanghai for this year's China International Import Expo (CIIE).
"This visit to the CIIE will allow us to gain a close-up understanding of the development opportunities brought by the upgrading of China's high-end manufacturing industry," said Mayr Günther Franz Josef, WFL's general manager. A first-time participant at the expo, the company also hopes to deepen cooperation and strengthen ties with industrial partners across the Asia-Pacific region.
WFL's journey speaks to the CIIE's appeal as a proven platform for global businesses to launch debuts and connect markets, innovation and industries. Now in its ninth edition, this year's CIIE is seeing more than 480 exhibits making their global, Asian or China debuts.
The number sets a new record for the event, which has seen over 3,400 new products, technologies and services debut in the past eight editions. Many of them moved from the expo floor to store shelves and became bestsellers in the Chinese market.
For French cosmetics giant L'Oréal, the CIIE is an ideal launchpad for new brands, new products, new innovations, and new partnerships.
"Nearly half of our brands made their debut in the Chinese market through the CIIE," said Lan Zhenzhen, chief corporate affairs and engagement officer, L'Oréal North Asia & China. She added that these brands have since performed well in China.
In China's five-year development blueprint for 2026-2030, the country has called for expanding imports and continuing to hold the CIIE and other major trade fairs, as well as actively promoting the "debut economy."
"The Chinese market is a barometer for global product trends and innovation," said Xia Xianlin, account director at Joy Wing Mau Chile Spa. Introducing a new coconut product at the expo, the company hopes to leverage the CIIE's spillover effect to help more fruit products enter the Chinese market.
At the CIIE, debuts do more than introduce new products. They spark further innovation as technologies and ideas from around the world meet local needs and partners.
Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, which has participated in all the previous eight editions of the expo, is showcasing new medicines at this year's event, including Kyinsu, a once-weekly injection for type 2 diabetes.
"The CIIE has become an important part of our work in China," said Mike Doustdar, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk. This is the company's ninth consecutive year at the CIIE, and many medicines first showcased at the expo have since reached the Chinese market.
According to Novo Nordisk, Chinese experts have helped develop Kyinsu, serving as lead investigators in its global Phase III clinical trial and helping shape the global research.
In telecommunications, U.S. tech company Qualcomm debuted the world's first 6G terminal prototype outside the laboratory. According to the company, the device has been used in 6G technology tests and validation conducted with its Chinese partners, including China Mobile and ZTE.
"Qualcomm's participation in the CIIE is more than a number of visits. It reflects our journey of innovating and growing together with our Chinese partners," said Frank Meng, chairman of Qualcomm China.
Unveiling a tire made with 75 percent renewable and recycled materials at the CIIE, French tire manufacturer Michelin has described its evolving approach to China as a shift from "In China, for China" to "With China, for the World."
New trends and technologies in sectors ranging from electric vehicles to autonomous driving often emerge in China ahead of other markets, according to Jay Wu, Michelin China vice president, director of government relations and strategy.
"China is both a test ground and a gym, a place where we test new ideas, challenge ourselves and continuously strengthen our innovation capabilities," Wu told Xinhua. ■
