The Guangxi Day event for China Pavilion of Expo 2020 Dubai kicked off in Nanning, Guangxi on November 1, 2021. Organized by the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the event comprised offline activities in Nanning such as opening ceremony of Guangxi Day, China (Guangxi) Business Opportunity Promotion Conference, and cultural performances, as well as online activities including the 7-day China Guangxi (UAE) International Commodity Fair.
The opening ceremony of Guangxi Day consisted of four parts, namely speeches by government officials, online pavilion tour, launch ceremony for both Guangxi Day and “Guangxi Products on Silk Road” China Guangxi (UAE) International Commodity Fair Online, and signing ceremony for projects. Liu Hongwu, Vice Chairman of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to China, were present and spoke at the opening ceremony, while Chen Jian’an, Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), and Juma Mohammed Al Kait, Assistant Undersecretary for Foreign Trade Affairs at the UAE Ministry of Economy, sent their video messages to the event.
The signing ceremony part involved three projects, namely the USD 3 million daily-use ceramics procurement project between Guangxi Sanhuan Enterprise Group Holding Co., Ltd. and Tradeling groups, the cooperation between TWT Supply Chain of Guangxi and UAE Trade Connect, a cross-border e-commerce platform, and the cooperation between CCPIT Guangxi Committee and East African Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (EACCIA).
At the opening ceremony, China Guangxi (UAE) International Commodity Fair Online was launched to cement the trade and investment ties between enterprises of Guangxi and those in countries and regions along the Belt and Road and thus help increase the visibility of Guangxi brands. The Fair incorporates online display, online promotion, online negotiations, and contactless buyer-supplier matchmaking. More than 100 enterprises would exhibit on the online platform their products in about 50 categories, including building materials, machinery and equipment, hardware and electrical supplies, food and agriculture, engineering, electric power, automobile and motorcycle accessories, home decoration lamps, light industry, consumer goods, home appliances, and electronics. In addition, interested purchasers and exhibitors would be brought together to have “one-on-one” online talks, and online matchmaking meetings would be held in phases for participating enterprises from different industries.
China (Guangxi) Business Opportunity Promotion Conference was held after the opening ceremony. Four government organizations of Guangxi, i.e. CCPIT Guangxi Committee, Investment Promotion Agency, Department of Commerce, and Department of Culture and Tourism, respectively introduced the business opportunities arising from the development of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, Guangxi’s investment environment and industries, China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and Guangxi’s culture and tourism.
Moreover, an exhibition themed “Extraordinary Beauty of Guangxi” was staged at the China Pavilion of Expo 2020 Dubai, so that the international exchange platform offered by the Expo can be made full use of to promote Guangxi’s investment environment, ethnic minority cultures and tourism resources and thus help Guangxi open up wider to the outside world. The exhibition featured both pictures and products, with Guangxi’s promotional film played in a loop. The display of pictures focused on four themes, namely Guangxi’s achievements and plans in the endeavor to develop the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, the achievements and plans made by China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the high-quality development of Guangxi’s industrial sector, and Guangxi’s tourism resources, cultures and customs. The display of products covered Guangxi’s intangible cultural heritage, industrial products, products concerning the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, and cultural and tourism products.
World Expos, as expositions of the highest level in the world, provide an important platform to showcase global achievements in economic and social development and boost the understanding and exchanges between different parts of the world. Expo 2020 Dubai is the first World Expo held in the Middle East. As a staunch supporter of World Expos, Guangxi considers it very important to showcase its economic development achievements and promote its opening-up and international exchanges through Expo 2020 Dubai. The Guangxi Day event focuses not only on displaying Guangxi’s development achievements, but also on incorporating the special elements of the autonomous region to better tell the stories of what Guangxi has achieved, its policies, and its unique charm, so that more people in the world will know better about the products of Guangxi and more businesses will come to invest in Guangxi based on a better and thorough understanding of this autonomous region.
