People visit the booth of south China's Sichuan Province during the 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 12, 2024. Themed "Global Services, Shared Prosperity," the 2024 CIFTIS opened at the China National Convention Center and the Shougang Park in Beijing on Thursday. (Photo: Xinhua)

The 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) concluded in Beijing on Monday, achieving some 1,000 practical outcomes in deals and investments, with more than 20 percent of its on-site exhibitors being international companies. 

Multiple foreign-funded enterprises showcased their latest innovations at the expo, while expressing confidence in exploring the Chinese market.

The outcomes achieved during this year's CIFTIS include transactions and investments in fields such as construction, finance and business services. During the event, 56 sessions were held, including international cooperation project negotiation and promotion meetings, according to the organizer.

A total of 111 enterprises and institutions, including Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders, announced 219 achievements in the fields of digitalization, artificial intelligence, healthcare and more, an increase of 80 compared with the previous edition, Piao Xuedong, head of the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau, said at a press conference on Monday.

The fruitful results of the CIFTIS demonstrate China's firm determination to boost high-quality development through high-level opening-up, and these results reflect a broad, important consensus on deepening the global services industry and services trade cooperation, and reflect outstanding achievements in the innovative development of services trade, Wang Bo, an official of the Ministry of Commerce, said at the conference.

"This is our first time to participate in the CIFTIS and we had many conversations surrounding our environmental services and learning from the experts in attendance about the opportunities in providing ESG-related services," Frank Hammes, global CEO of Swiss air quality technology company IQAir, told the Global Times on the sidelines of the CIFTIS.

China is one of the most dynamic economies in the world. Intense competition among companies within China and a growing internal market has made China highly competitive in nearly every product category. As a foreign enterprise in China, this situation is both an opportunity and a challenge, Hammes said.

"China will continue to be an important part of our business," he said.

Jiang Lei, general manager of French pilot training center operator Simaero, noted the fast growth of the company's business amid China's continuous opening-up process.

"Our company provides training services for civil aviation pilots with a simulation cockpit, and our revenues and business scope have expanded at a great speed since the establishment of our first joint venture in China in 2021," Jiang told the Global Times. 

"There is a long list of Chinese localities that we plan to expand our business cooperation with to meet the growing demand of China's fast-growing civil aviation industry." 

China's National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, recently issued the 2024 negative list for foreign investment access, with restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector to be completely lifted, in a latest effort to promote wider opening-up to the outside world.