French President Emmanuel Macron has been confirmed to attend the opening ceremony of the second China International Import Expo next week. Macron will also be making a state visit to the county as part of his itinerary during his time in China from November 4 to November 6.
Macron will be joining dozens of other global leaders who have already confirmed their attendance at the major economic event in Shanghai.
According to the China foreign ministry's announcement on Wednesday, other global leaders that have confirmed their attendance to the event include Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
Meanwhile, representatives and delegations from 63 other foreign countries have all confirmed their attendance to the expo.
Apart from the government officials, representatives from more than 3,000 companies located from over 150 countries around the world will be attending. Despite its ongoing trade dispute with China, around 192 US-based companies have confirmed their attendance to the expo next week.
The number of US companies attending this year is 18 percent more than the number of companies that attended last year's event prior to the major escalation of the trade war.
The increase in confirmed attendees at this year's import expo has been seen as a clear sign that most counties and businesses are still optimistic about China's economic and business prospects and potential.
According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, foreign countries and governments still want to invest in China, with most aiming to build deeper economic cooperation.
Geng explained that China will continue with its rapid reforms and opening-up efforts, which have both seen rapid acceleration over the past few months.
The spokesman pointed out a recent report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which points out that China has seen an influx of foreign investments thanks to its recent reforms and opening-up efforts.
In his statement, Geng took a quick jab at the United States and mentioned that fewer investments are now going to the US resulting in more investments going to China. This apparently shows how China is becoming more open and the US is becoming more conservative.
Geng concluded by saying that China hopes that other countries would continue to strive to uphold free global trade and to build a more open world economy.
To achieve this goal, China is calling on the international community to cooperate in fighting against protectionism and unilateralism to provide a more favorable environment for businesses and global investors.
