On May 16th, Chinese Ambassador to Canada, H.E. Cong Peiwu, attended the promotional conference of the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Vancouver and made remarks. The promotional conference were co-hosted by the CIIE Bureau, the Chinese Embassy in Canada and the Chinese Consulate General in Vancouver. Over 140 representatives from local business community, media, etc., participated in the event. The main contents are as follows:

It is a great pleasure to meet you all in this beautiful weather and in this beautiful city.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out, spring breeze of openness will bring warmth to all parts of the world. The promotional conference of the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) will bring warmth to Vancouver. Today, what I witnessed was the gathering of both new and old friends and the collaboration that embraced openness and inclusiveness.

Currently, the global economy and international trade are facing challenges. In late April, IMF released a report stating that in 2023, global economic growth will decline from last year’s 3.4 percent to 2.8 percent, while global inflation rates will remain high at 7 percent.

To address the challenges facing the global economy, cooperation rather than confrontation is the right path. Amid the gloomy prospects of the global economy, the Asia-Pacific region undoubtedly stands out as a growth hotspot. According to IMF projections, the economy of the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow by 4.6 percent this year, contributing 70 percent to global economic growth. China's economy is projected to grow by 5.2 percent, making a contribution of 35 percent to global economic growth.

China is always a contributor to global development, and will continue to bring the world new opportunities through its new development. China has been stepping up efforts in promoting high-level opening up despite economic headwinds. China has submitted a formal application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership(CPTPP), a major move to further expand its opening up. For CPTPP members, China's accession means that the consumer base of CPTPP members will triple, and the pact members' total GDP will expand by 1.5 times. This will bring tremendous opportunities for CPTPP members.

It must be pointed out that the difficulties in current bilateral relations are not what the Chinese side wishes to see, and obviously, the responsibility does not rest with China. China has no interest in interfering in any countries' internal affairs, and has never done such a thing. Relations between countries should and must be based on mutual respect and equal treatment, and should never be taken hostage by domestic politics. Should Canada continue to take wrong actions concerning China, our bilateral relations will surely be further hurt and it serves no good to our mutually-beneficial cooperation.      

China has never been a threat but an opportunity. What China brings to the world are cooperation, stability and reassurance, not confrontation, turmoil or risks. It is entirely different from what the US has been doing, including holding on to the Cold War mentality, ganging up with other countries, putting up cliques and stoking bloc confrontation. We urge the G7 members including Canada to embrace the trend of openness and inclusiveness in the world, stop forming exclusive blocs, and not to become complicit in any economic coercion.

China will fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts, move faster to create a new pattern of development, focus on promoting high-quality development, and earnestly advance Chinese modernization. This will bring immense development opportunities for companies from all over the world. China's door of opening up will not be closed and will only open even wider.

Hosting the CIIE is a significant decision by China in the new era to promote high-level opening up and a major initiative to actively open its market to the world. Many Canadian companies present here today have achieved rapid business growth in China by participating in the CIIE. Last year, over 60 Canadian companies and institutions participated in the 5th CIIE. The 6th CIIE will be held in Shanghai as scheduled in November this year, and Canadian business representatives, including all of you present here, are warmly welcomed to participate.