China welcomes global enterprises at consumer expo in Haikou

China will firmly promote high-level opening-up to the outside world and welcome global enterprises to invest in the country and share business growth opportunities together, said a senior official at the opening ceremony of the Fourth China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, capital of the southern island province of Hainan on Saturday.

The event, China's first significant international expo this year and the largest consumer expo in the Asia-Pacific in terms of scale, will be held from April 13 to 18. Over 4,000 brands from 71 countries and regions will participate in the expo this year, a record high.

Peng Qinghua, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said China would continue to stimulate new vitality in consumption. It is hoped that different parties will organize diverse promotional activities to help drive consumption upgrades and boost economic growth, Peng said.

China stands as the consumer market with the biggest growth potential in the world, and it boasts strong resilience and unchanged long-term growth fundamentals, Sheng Qiuping, vice-minister of commerce, said during the opening ceremony.

In January and February, total retail sales of consumer goods in the country reached 8.1 trillion yuan ($1.12 trillion), up 5.5 percent year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

"The figures fully indicated the strong resilience of China's consumption market, and laid a foundation for stable and progressive consumption growth of the year," Sheng said.

Fueled by the huge consumption market of China, major foreign companies said they would continue to increase investments in the country.

US skincare group Estee Lauder said Hainan stands as one of the most popular travel destinations, and it has provided exciting business growth opportunities for global retail brands, said Israel Assa, global president of travel retail of Estee Lauder Companies.

Estee Lauder built its travel retail headquarters of China in Haikou last year to support its travel retail business in China and the Asia-Pacific region. The company's research and development center in Shanghai plans to develop more beauty products that cater to Chinese consumers.