Trade Mission to China (Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai) and Accompanied Visit to China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai from the 5th to 9th of November 2018
Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China is an autonomous territory on the eastern side of the Pearl River estuary in South China. With over 7.4 million Hongkongers of various nationalities in a territory of 1,104 square kilometers, Hong Kong is the fourth-most densely populated region in the world.
As the world’s seventh-largest trading entity, the territory’s legal tender, Hong Kong dollar, is the 13th-most traded currency. Hong Kong’s services-dominated economy is characterised by competitive simple taxation and supported by its common law judicial system. Although the city boasts one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, it suffers severe income inequality.
Hong Kong and the mainland China are each other’s major trading partner. Hong Kong is not only a historic free trade port, but also and remains the entry port to mainland China and to the Southeast Asia region in term of tourists and business; its economy grew rapidly, earning it a place as one of the East Asian Tigers.
Shenzhen
The so-called “most innovative city” in China, is a major manufacturing center in China and it’s also extremely fertile ground for start-ups. As a major part of economic reform and opening-up to the world, China established five Special Economic Zones in the 1980s. The rise of Shenzhen, the first such zone, epitomises China’s transition from being economically underdeveloped into the world’s second-largest economy.
As a front-runner in reform and opening-up, the city used to rely on processing trade mainly for Hong Kong. After enjoying a high economic growth rate of nearly 40 percent per year from the 1980s to the early 1990s, due to limited land resources and rising labor costs, the city gradually turned its focus to developing high value added industries such as information technology, biotechnology, new materials and high-end equipment manufacturing. Now it has become a magnet for technology startups and the headquarters of famous high-tech companies such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, Tencent Holdings Ltd and one of the world’s largest drone makers, DJI.
Shanghai
Shanghai is one of the four direct-controlled municipalities of China, the largest city in China by population, and the second most populous city proper in the world, with a population of more than 24 million as of 2017. It is a global financial center ranking 13th in the 2017 edition of the Global Financial Centres Index and prime logistics hub, with the world’s busiest container port. Located in the Yangtze River Delta, it sits on the south edge of the estuary of the Yangtze in the middle portion of the East China coast.
As a major administrative, shipping and trading city, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to trade and recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between China and other parts of the world, and became the primary financial hub of the Asia-Pacific region in the 1930s already. In the 1990s, it has since re-emerged as a hub for international trade and finance; In the last two decades Shanghai has been one of the fastest developing cities in the world. It is the home of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, one of the world’s largest by market capitalization. Shanghai has been described as the “showpiece” of the booming economy of mainland China, renowned for its Lujiazui skyline.
Shanghai is one of the main industrial centers of China, playing a key role in China’s heavy industries. A large number of industrial zones, including Shanghai Hongqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone, are backbones of Shanghai’s secondary industry. Shanghai is also home to the largest free-trade zone in mainland China, the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free-Trade Zone.
Two workshops will be organised in Hong Kong and in Shanghai, introducing the advantages and opportunities of these two biggest Chinese commercial and financial capitals respectively. Luxembourg and European companies settled there will share with the participants of the mission their experiences and success stories.
In Shenzhen, the participates will have the opportunity to visit high-tech companies and take part to the seminar ‘Luxembourg, Innovation Hub of Europe’, followed by tailor-made B2B matchmakings, organised in collaboration with China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Shenzhen.
In Shanghai, the flagship program is the accompanied visit to the first edition of China International Import Expo (CIIE), launched by Chinese president Xi Jinping. Being the second largest economy and the world’s second largest importer and consumer, China expects to import goods and services valued at more than US $ 10 trillion in the next five years, this is a historic opportunity for companies from around the world to enter the big Chinese market. On the occasion, it is estimated that a total of 150,000 professional and institutional buyers from different sectors and provinces of China will be invited for this event in order to establish commercial links with foreign companies who will exhibit their products, goods and services for the purpose of exporting to China. China will present the world business community a first-rate international import expo in Shanghai, which will be held from November 5 to 10. The first China International Import Expo (CIIE) should be on a par with the most renowned exhibitions in the world, combining country exhibitions, enterprise exhibitions and conferences to form a comprehensive international influence.
Moreover, Luxembourg for Tourism will organise promotional workshops in parallel in Hong Kong and in Shanghai respectively.
Interested companies are invited to register online no later than 12th September, 2018.
For further information, please contact International team Ms. Na Shi/Ms. Violaine Mathurin/Ms. Déborah Varoqui by Tel.: +352 42 39 39 364/481/531 or by e-mail: china@cc.lu