Visitors pass by the national pavilion of Slovakia at the CICPE in Haikou, South China's Hainan Province, on April 13, 2025. Photo: Yin Yeping/GT

 
With colorful logos and flags lining Binhai Road, the main road toward the exhibition halls in Haikou, capital of South China's Hainan Province, the China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE), the largest premium consumer goods expo in the Asia Pacific region, kicked off Sunday, offering a window of business opportunities in China for the world amid global headwinds.

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Sunday welcomed global businesses to invest and thrive in China, as the country, with a population of over 1.4 billion, boasts vast market potential and robust momentum for consumption upgrades, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Han made the remarks when talking with the heads of exhibiting companies in Haikou, before attending the launch event for the fifth China International Consumer Products Expo and "Shopping in China" series.

Han encouraged global companies to make good use of the expo to expand brand influence, deepen economic and trade cooperation, and achieve mutual benefits.

Some 1,000 people, including representatives from government agencies, exhibitors, purchasing firms and diplomatic envoys to China, attended the event.

Amid global trade uncertainties driven by US tariffs, the timely opening of the CICPE injects much-needed certainty and momentum into international economic and trade cooperation, Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Sunday, noting that the event's opening highlights China's confidence and determination to expand its opening-up and continue sharing development opportunities with the world.

This year's expo, with the theme "Share Open Opportunities, Co-create a Better Life," features participation from over 1,700 companies and more than 4,100 brands from more than 70 countries and regions around the world, the Global Times learned from event organizers.

The expo showcases high-quality new products in emerging consumer fields such as fashion, digital consumption, health and green consumption. Countries like the UK, France, Switzerland and Slovakia are present with official delegations.

Speaking at the expo on Sunday, Slovakian Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Denisa Sakova described the event as "perfect," expressing her excitement and expectations for deepening ties with the Chinese market through such an expo.

This is the first time Slovakia has participated in the expo with a national pavilion.

Sakova told the Global Times by the Slovakian national pavilion at the expo on Sunday that Slovakia and China have built up relationship decades ago, and "now we see China as the biggest and fastest-growing economy in the world."

"For everyone, the Chinese market holds tremendous potential... That's why 10 different entrepreneurs [from Slovakia] are here, presenting products from various sectors of our economy - ranging from cosmetics to food and beverages to technical innovations - with the ambition and goal of succeeding in the Chinese market, and we hope to achieve that success," the Slovak deputy prime minister said.

Other countries at the expo have actively been embracing Chinese market opportunities for many years. For example, Ireland has participated since the first edition of the CICPE in 2021 and set up its own national pavilion since 2022. This year, as usual, they are showcasing a wide range of Irish products and services, ranging from agricultural goods to education and tourism.

This is the first visit for Nicholas O'Brien to attend the CICPE as Irish Ambassador to China, though he was here 20 years ago as a Consul General in Shanghai. Reflecting on the changes, he told the Global Times on Sunday, "Now the consumer market here in China is very interesting, and when I look at the economic development in China over the last 20 years, it's truly remarkable."

Speaking about the potential for bilateral cooperation, he noted that Ireland's biggest exports to China include pharmaceuticals, food and drinks, whiskey, butter and cheese - areas where he hopes to deepen cooperation with the Chinese market.

The Irish ambassador voiced his support for multilateralism. "We're very clear that an open trading system is in all our interests. And that's allowed the Irish economy to grow, the Chinese economy to grow, and economies around the world to grow."

The UK is serving as guest of honor at this year's expo, after debuting a national pavilion at last year's CICPE, with an exhibition area of over 1,300 square meters and 53 participating brands, double the number from last year. The Brazilian state of Sao Paulo and Jeju Island of South Korea are also debuting regional pavilions.