China opens import expo under anti-disease controls

SHANGHAI (AP) — Chinese leaders are conducting an import fair under intensive anti-coronavirus controls in their latest effort to revive the world's No. 2 economy while the United States and Europe struggle with a renewed surge of infections.

Few exhibitors came from abroad for the third China International Import Expo. Most were represented by Chinese employees or managers who work in China. Beijing has eased curbs that barred foreign visitors to China, but new arrivals are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine.

China, where the pandemic began in December, became the first major economy to begin the struggle to restore normal activity after the ruling Communist Party declared victory over the virus in March. Economic growth turned positive in the three months ending in June. Retail spending has edged back above pre-virus levels.

“By hosting the expo in these difficult times, China is demonstrating its resolve to keep the global economy on track,” the official China Daily newspaper said Wednesday.

The expo does nothing to address complaints about China’s trade record that helped to spark its tariff war with Washington and fuel tension with Europe, Japan and other trading partners.

Other governments complain Beijing violates its free-trade commitments by hampering access for foreign companies that want to invest and compete in its industries. They say the ruling party improperly supports its fledgling companies in technology and other promising fields and shields them from competition.

The approximately 2,600 companies at the six-day expo that opened Thursday in a cavernous, 1.5 million square meter (16 million square foot) convention center include many that already operate in or sell to China.

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