Li to be joined at trade fair by Australian, Cuban, Kazakh, Serbian prime minsters

Premier Li Qiang will attend the opening ceremony and make a keynote speech at the sixth China International Import Expo and the sixth Hongqiao International Economic Forum in Shanghai on Sunday.

At the invitation of Li, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov and Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic will attend the opening ceremony and other events.

"Since the first CIIE was held in 2018, the expo has been broadening its circle of friends with more and more friends, both old and new, coming to China for this event," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing on Friday.

Wang said that this year's CIIE, which will run until Friday, will welcome guests from 154 countries, regions and international organizations, attracting over 3,400 exhibitors and nearly 410,000 registered professional visitors. It will be the first time that the United States and Honduras send high-level officials to the expo.

In addition, more than 70 countries and international organizations have confirmed their participation in country exhibitions, of which 11 nations will make their debuts and 34 will participate in offline exhibitions for the first time, Wang said.

As the world's first import-themed national-level expo, a total of 131 countries and international organizations participated in the event in the previous five editions, generating a total intended turnover of nearly $350 billion.

"The expo epitomizes China's continuous efforts to expand highlevel opening-up and sends a strong message of promoting inclusive growth of the global economy," Wang said.

He added that over 300 big names from international political, business and academic circles — including Nobel Prize and Turing Award winners — will attend the Hongqiao International Economic Forum themed "Joining Hands in Development, Opening Up for the Future".

"China is willing to work hand in hand with all parties to jointly build a globally renowned trade fair to provide more market opportunities, investment opportunities and growth opportunities for the common development of all," Wang said.

Sino-Australian ties

Wang also announced on Friday that Albanese will pay an official visit to China from Saturday to Tuesday. It will be the Australian prime minister's first visit to China since he took office last year, and also the first visit to China by an Australian prime minister since 2016.

Wang added that the trip bears great significance in ushering in the future as it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first visit to China by then-Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam in 1973 after the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1972.

During Albanese's stay in China, Chinese leaders will hold meetings and talks with him and exchange in-depth views on bilateral ties as well as international and regional issues of common concern, Wang said.

"China stands ready to work with Australia to take this visit as an opportunity to strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, expand cooperation and deepen friendship for the continuous improvement of bilateral ties," he added.

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