A participant at the first China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) takes a picture of a patrol robot at the expo center on May 6, 2021. Photo: IC

The 4th China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) will take place in Haikou, capital of South China's Hainan Province, from April 13 to 18, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.

Experts noted that as the Ministry of Commerce declared 2024 the "Year of Promoting Consumption," the expo will serve as an international platform to further promote China's consumption recovery and industrial upgrading.

The expo will be held across various venues, with the Hainan International Convention and Exhibition Center serving as the main venue, Xinhua reported. The fourth CICPE will also feature themed exhibitions on galleons and yachts, health consumption, and various other activities.

Ireland will be the guest of honor at this year's expo, with a dedicated exhibition venue serving as the national pavilion of Ireland. Japan, Canada, Switzerland and other exhibitors will also organize country and regional pavilions.

Organizers will continue to increase the recruitment of international major consumer goods brands and broadly invite international brands to participate in the fair with "new" and "special" products, fully demonstrating the role of the fair as a global public service platform, according to the report. So far, 86.3 percent of the recruitment has been completed.

The third CICPE in 2023 hosted more than 3,382 brands from 65 countries and regions, while more than 2,000 overseas purchasers from 35 countries and regions attended, actively seeking business opportunities, according to Xinhua.

Hainan is seeking to build itself into an international tourism and consumption center with booming duty-free shopping. In addition, the province has made solid strides in building a high-level free trade port (FTP).

According to a master plan released in 2020 by the central authorities, the Hainan FTP is scheduled to initiate independent customs operations throughout the island by the end of 2025.

In 2023, the province achieved robust GDP growth of 9.2 percent year-on-year, with retail sales rising 10.7 percent. Hainan has set its economic growth target for 2024 at about 8 percent, with a similar increase in retail sales.

Global Times