Building an open platform for cooperation, CIFTIS draws global exhibitors to China

By Gong Weiwei

(ECNS) -- The 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) offers countries an important platform to showcase their distinctive services and products, explore the Chinese market, and deepen exchanges and cooperation in trade, technology and culture, officials from Norway, Georgia and Zimbabwe told China News Network.

Held from Wednesday to Sunday in Beijing this year, CIFTIS serves as an important window into China's efforts to expand high-level opening-up.

Norway serves as the guest country of honor this year. "Norway hopes to use the fair to further expand its presence in the Chinese market," Henning Kristoffersen, commercial counsellor at the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing said. He called CIFTIS an excellent platform to showcase Norwegian services, products, companies and brands.

Kristoffersen said the fair shows China's willingness to open its markets. He said the country's welcome of foreign companies gives Norwegian firms a valuable opportunity to explore the Chinese market.

The fair is also drawing interest from countries taking part for the first time.

Georgia is exhibiting with a national pavilion for the first time. Tornike Sulaberidze, deputy chairman of Georgia's Investment Agency, told China News Network that the pavilion lets visitors taste Georgian wine, experience the country's culture and learn about its tourism potential.

China is one of Georgia's most important trading partners and sources of investment, Sulaberidze said, adding that Georgia attaches great importance to its bilateral relations with China and that the trade partnership is crucial to both countries.

For Zimbabwe, CIFTIS is not only a platform for cultural exchange but also an important channel for technological exchange and cooperation.

David Ndarama, cultural exchange consultant at Zimbabwe's Ministry of Tourism, said China's robotics technology is becoming increasingly advanced. He said robots could in future be used not only in athletics but across various industrial sectors, helping promote industrialization and boost production.

"We give China's robotics a big thumbs-up," Ndarama said, adding that he hopes Zimbabwe and China can further strengthen cooperation and bring technological advances to more sectors.

From trade in services to cutting-edge technology, the response from officials and business representatives from several countries shows why the fair has become a platform for international openness and cooperation.