A promotional conference for the sixth China International Import Expo was held in Paris, France, on April 21 local time, to attract more French enterprises to this year’s expo.

The conference was attended by more than 300 representatives from the expo’s partners, trade and investment promotion institutions, industry associations, enterprises, and Chinese and French media outlets.

Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said during the conference that the French government and enterprises have been active participants of the annual CIIE, which has enabled them to tap the Chinese market and expand cooperation with China.

According to Wang, France has been invited to be a guest of honor country of the seventh CIIE in 2024.

Thierry Meyer, president of the French Interprofessional Pork Council (INAPORC), said at the conference that they highly value the Chinese market and have participated in the CIIE for five consecutive years.

He added that 15 pork companies were granted permission to export their products to China during French President Emmanuel Macron's recent visit to the country, and this move is expected to boost trade between the two countries.

Barbara Lavernos, deputy chief executive officer of L’Oréal, a multinational cosmetics company, also highlighted that the CIIE has presented numerous opportunities in the Chinese market and established a bridge connecting global high-quality products with the aspirations of the Chinese people for a better life.

She added that L’Oréal has debuted nearly 20 new brands and hundreds of new products at the expo, many of which have been well-received in China.

During the conference, several industry associations, organizations and enterprises, including INAPORC and L’Oréal, signed up for this year’s expo.

France is a significant participant of the CIIE, and the number of French exhibitors, the exhibition space they occupied and the intended transaction volume they achieved during each expo ranked highly among all countries and regions.