The 2026 CIFTIS Appointment: A World Symphony of Shared Benefits and Joint Progress

2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services

BEIJING, Sept. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CIFTIS is an important window for China's high-standard opening up and a key platform for the world to observe China's innovative development in the services sector and share in China's development dividends.

From September 9 to 13, the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) is being held at Shougang Park in Beijing. As a national-level comprehensive services trade fair in the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, 90 countries (regions) and international organisations are setting up exhibitions and holding events; a China Services Case Exhibition has been established for the first time; over 1,800 enterprises are exhibiting on-site; and a host of new technologies, new services, and new solutions are making their debuts...

In September 2025, in a congratulatory letter to the 2025 CIFTIS, President Xi Jinping pointed out that China stands ready to work with all parties to jointly advance open, innovative, and cooperative global trade in services, build an open world economy, and continuously inject new momentum into the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Setting sail for global markets, China's services are benefiting the world. In the face of insufficient momentum for global economic growth, China is steadfastly expanding high-standard opening up. The 2026 CIFTIS appointment - a world symphony of shared benefits and joint progress - is resonating between the blast furnaces and exhibition halls of Shougang Park. An "enabling power" is increasingly becoming a source of confidence for global economic development.

New Launches: Debuts and First-Time Showcases Take Centre Stage

An open platform embraces guests from all directions.

This year's CIFTIS welcomes Norway as the Guest Country of Honor and Guangxi as the Guest Province of Honor, with pavilions from multiple countries showcasing distinctive industries and development achievements. The China Services Case Exhibition is established for the first time, presenting China's innovative practices in services trade. A Going Global Services Promotion Roadshow Zone has been newly set up to build a bridge for supply-demand matchmaking as enterprises set sail for global markets. Nine thematic sections - including finance and culture and tourism - are flourishing, showcasing the strength of China Services while opening the door to global wisdom and achievements.

Walking into Hall 1 of Shougang Park, one immediately notices the pavilion of Guest Country of Honor Norway. Exhibits in areas such as marine health and nutrition, green transition and industrial technology, and design and lifestyle are laid out in sequence.

"Do you know the Norwegian football star Haaland?" At a CIFTIS press conference, Henning Kristoffersen, Commercial Counsellor at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in China and Head of Innovation Norway in China, introduced that China is Norway's largest trading partner in Asia, with approximately 160 Norwegian companies operating in China. "We hope to use CIFTIS to continuously expand areas of cooperation."

At this year's CIFTIS, a China Services Case Exhibition Zone has been established for the first time in a prominent position in the theme exhibition, serving as a window to observe the quality of China's services development. More than 140 cases cover 12 major areas of services trade, with nearly 40% featuring core technologies such as artificial intelligence, large language models, and intelligent agents.

"Today, a number of cases have gained a firm foothold in international markets, demonstrating the strong momentum of China Services going global," said Piao Xuedong, Director of the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau.

At this year's CIFTIS, over 100 enterprises and institutions - including Alibaba and Xinlian Yuanchuang - are presenting more than 100 debut and first-time showcase achievements, covering new products and services in areas such as artificial intelligence, healthcare, cultural global expansion, and green and low-carbon development. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is participating as a co-host of the Global Services Trade Summit for the first time.

Multinational corporations have also brought their best: HKT, as one of the first Hong Kong-funded enterprises in the pilot programme for expanding opening up in value-added telecommunications services, is highlighting AI product operations and global network resource services; Schneider Electric is presenting its "full life-cycle one-stop services"; Qualcomm is showcasing 6G sensing and intelligent classification, agentic AI and augmented reality experiences, and an end-to-end 6G prototype system...

From an initial exhibition area of 50,000 square metres to today's Shougang Park Convention and Exhibition Town, CIFTIS - now in its 14th year - has grown into the world's largest comprehensive exhibition in the services trade sector.

The excitement has also spread beyond the park. As the permanent venue, Shougang Park has launched 11 inspection routes, organised 74 supporting events including cultural performances and consumer markets, and linked up with key commercial districts in Beijing.

In the first half of this year, China's services trade delivered a highly impressive scorecard: total services imports and exports reached RMB 3.8 trillion, up 8.3% year-on-year, with services exports growing by 17.6%, becoming an important engine for foreign trade growth.

Building on the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, with the Fair as a bridge, global wisdom converges here, and guests from all directions come together for this appointment with openness. Tang Wenhong, Vice Mayor of Beijing, said that this year's CIFTIS places greater emphasis on the synergy between services trade and services consumption, and between services trade and services investment, aiming to ensure that the convention and exhibition economy "goes beyond the exhibition itself and delivers boundless spillover benefits."

Setting Sail: China Services Go Global

"Discover the Beauty of China" - as enterprises go global, services follow!

This year, CIFTIS has set up a dedicated zone for going-global services for the first time. Professional institutions in finance, law, accounting, and intellectual property are gathered in one place, with more than 40 promotional roadshows held in succession.

"At present, enterprises going global face not only competition over cost-effectiveness, but comprehensive competition in terms of rule adaptability, compliance management, and risk response capabilities," said Li Yao, China Managing Partner of KPMG's Global China Business Development Center. She noted that the newly established Going Global Services Zone is timely.

China Services are accelerating their global expansion. On August 25, a Long March 6C Y1 carrier rocket sent a Chinese-made satellite into orbit, providing Thailand with remote sensing data services for agriculture, ecology, and other purposes. This was the first time a Chinese commercial space enterprise completed whole-satellite development, launch, and in-orbit delivery for a Southeast Asian country.

In Beijing, more than 20 biopharmaceutical, integrated circuit, and high-end manufacturing enterprises have established themselves in the Yizhuang Comprehensive Bonded Zone. In just over half a year of operation, their first-line import and export trade volume exceeded RMB 10 billion.

International exhibitions represented by CIFTIS continue to unleash China's "magnetic appeal" for cooperation.

In the Shougang Park exhibition area, such stories emerge one after another: international rail freight and cross-border multimodal transport solutions covering dozens of countries and regions; the "Discover the Beauty of China" cultural tourism service linking culture, technology, and financial resources, allowing overseas visitors to experience the Chinese cultural heritage...

Behind the world "looking east" is the magnificent panorama and strong appeal of Chinese modernisation.

At present, China's overall services trade volume has exceeded USD 1 trillion. Li Jun, Director of the Institute of International Trade in Services at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC) under the Ministry of Commerce, said: "Services consumption and services trade have become important pillars supporting economic growth, smoothing circulation, and enhancing competitiveness. China is now leaping from a 'major services trading nation' to a 'strong services trading nation.'"

In the eyes of participating representatives and exhibitors, the "invisible hand" of services trade is reshaping the trade landscape. Digital technology is empowering all industries, green services are flourishing, and cross-border service exchanges are becoming increasingly close. CIFTIS transforms cooperation intentions into tangible outcomes, allowing the dividends of opening up to benefit more countries and peoples.

Breaking Down Barriers: Open Rules Jointly Discussed and Built

Open rules are making trade more efficient. In the past, when a container of canned food was shipped from Xiamen Port to Singapore Port, the bill of lading had to be sent between the two countries by courier. Now, on the AEOTradeChain, the same bill of lading can be processed in just 8 minutes, greatly shortening the trade cycle.

Under the joint efforts of the Office of the "Two Zones" Leading Group of Beijing Municipality and relevant Singaporean authorities, this "AEOTradeChain + TradeTrust" solution enables electronic bills of lading to circulate across chains among ship owners, cargo owners, and banks, achieving digital collection. It is now covering more categories.

CIFTIS is not only a window for showcasing new technologies and achievements, but also an external showcase for China's institutional opening-up practices.

In the first half of this year, China's exports of intellectual property royalties grew by 44.3%. R&D and design - these "invisible capabilities" - are increasingly being traded across borders in the form of services.

Open rules are also being refined at an accelerating pace. Beijing has taken the lead in expanding the application scope of the negative list for data export from the pilot free trade zone to the entire municipality, covering nine fields including medical devices and trade logistics.

Such exploration is not limited to Beijing. Shanghai will open up the international service chain for aircraft; Guangzhou will innovate and develop financial and foreign-related legal services; Chengdu will cultivate a digital cultural and creative export cluster... All localities are building distinctive "service name cards."

Wang Tuoxuan, Managing Partner of Deloitte China North China and West China, said that CIFTIS is not simply an exhibition for "selling services," but rather a platform that turns policy texts into perceivable industrial scenarios, promotes the overseas application of Chinese service standards, and effectively facilitates mutual understanding and joint rule-building among countries.

"Going forward, China's services trade development will also welcome many favourable factors," said Yan Dong, Vice Minister of Commerce. He noted that the implementation of policies and measures such as expanding and upgrading the services industry will create a better environment for the high-standard opening up and high-quality development of services trade.

The blast furnaces of Shougang Park have witnessed the transformation of an industrial era, and now they witness the opening of a world appointment.

Through the "window" of CIFTIS 2026, the world sees a more open and more confident China. From "Made in China" to "China Services," from the flow of goods to the alignment of rules, China is writing a new chapter of sharing opportunities with the world with a more open posture, richer substance, and more pragmatic outcomes.

Contact person: Ms. Zhu, Tel: 86-10-63074558