The 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) came to a successful close on Sept 6. 

This year's CIFTIS, with the theme "Openness leads development, cooperation creates a win-win future," featured 155,000 square meters of exhibition space, 10 high-level forums, 102 special forums, 18 sideline meetings, and 72 promotion and negotiation events. 

There were over 2,400 offline and more than 6,700 online exhibitors. As of noon on Sept 6, nearly 280,000 people had attended the event, resulting in more than 1,100 achievements.

During the 2023 CIFTIS, ministerial-level guests and representatives from 42 countries and regions, foreign ambassadors in China, and representatives from international organizations attended the event offline, with nearly 800 people participating on site and 300 people joining online.

Compared to previous fairs, the international participation in the 2023 CIFTIS was further enhanced, with a total of 83 countries and international organizations hosting exhibitions and meetings in the name of their governments or headquarters, an increase of 12 from the previous year. 

Among them, eight countries and international organizations hosted exhibitions for the first time, and the guest of honor, the United Kingdom, organized its largest-ever exhibition delegation. Among the offline exhibitors, the internationalization rate exceeded 20 percent, including over 500 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders, covering 28 of the top 30 countries and regions in service trade.

During this event, more than a hundred forums and conferences were held, and over a hundred authoritative reports were released, including the China Service Trade Development Report, Digital Trade Development and Cooperation Report, World Tourism City Development Report, and China Pharmaceutical Enterprise R&D Index White Paper. 

These publications led the way in showcasing new trends and developments in service trade. A total of 75 well-known companies and institutions presented 139 achievements, including 125 new products and technologies in fields such as artificial intelligence, financial technology, healthcare, and cultural creativity.

Several highlight activities also had a widespread impact. The United Nations held the signing ceremony for the Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships, with 15 countries, including Switzerland, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia, signing among the first batch. 

More than 1,100 achievements were reached in areas such as project deals, investments, strategic agreements, authoritative releases, innovation launches, and alliance platforms. 

Notable achievements were made in fields like construction, telecommunications and computing, finance, and other business services, such as the establishment of Standard Chartered Securities, the Ebara Group's headquarters in Beijing, and Beijing Construction Engineering Group's participation in Belt and Road national construction projects.