EU Chamber of Commerce in China eyes more opportunities at upcoming CIFTIS

This photo taken on Sept. 1, 2023 shows an interior view of the China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Liu Lingyi)

BEIJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China sees the upcoming China International Fair for Trade in Services 2023 (CIFTIS 2023) from Sept. 2 to 6 in Beijing as a chance to seize more cooperation opportunities.

"Face-to-face meetings and negotiations will bring more connection and opportunities at CIFTIS 2023," said Carlo D'Andrea, vice president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, in an interview with Xinhua on Friday.

More than 2,400 enterprises have registered to participate in the offline activities of CIFTIS 2023, which offers an exhibition space of 155,000 square meters. Both numbers exceed the records of the previous session, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

This is the second time D'Andrea will attend CIFTIS. He regards the event as an opportunity to better understand the business environment in China.

"We have seen in the past year that many businesses are going digital and services are increasingly provided through artificial intelligence. We need to continue to evolve and adapt to these rapidly changing environments," he said.

As the founder and partner of D'Andrea & Partners Legal Counsel, an international law firm that has its Asian headquarters based in Shanghai, D'Andrea has lived in China for nearly 20 years, and said he is a witness of the services trade in China growing more and more global.

"Now we have a network of businesses and we try to have a vertical integration. We also provide assistance to global foreign investors and cater to their needs in doing business abroad," he said.

With offices in major Chinese cities including Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, his law firm will soon see a new office opening in Suzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province, which will be the company's seventh law office in China.

"Suzhou is a city where a large industrial cluster of Italian companies are based," said D'Andrea.

"We believe that 2023 shall be the year that China will restart. We hope it will bring more opportunities for those who want to invest globally," he added.

He said the business of his law firm has been growing quite fast in China, not only due to its own expertise, but also because of many multinational companies regarding their continuous investment in China as a key element in their global development.

"Our members believe that you should be present in China, because you should play a role in China's innovation ecosystem. And they are even keen to extend research and development activities in China," said D'Andrea.