Interview: China's import expo "terrific platform" for connectivity -- business leader

NEW YORK -- The China International Import Expo (CIIE) is a platform for companies around the globe to create connectivity, a senior executive from U.S. industrial conglomerate Honeywell has said.

"It's the one time where both Chinese and western companies can come together, showcase their innovation, provide their lessons learned and make more connectivity. I think it's a terrific platform," Shane Tedjarati, president of Honeywell Global High Growth Regions, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"We are very supportive of the CIIE, because it is an important part of the Chinese economy," said Tedjarati, who has worked and lived in China for more than 20 years.

China is a huge market with bullish import, export and trade, so "it is one of the pieces that needs to be there," he said.

Tedjarati recalled how his company has carved out businesses in the previous two editions of the CIIE.

At the first CIIE in 2018, Honeywell displayed its connectivity technologies and signed more than 10 deals with Chinese customers on plants, logistics and aircraft, among others.

The company tripled its exhibition area in the second year and displayed more than 30 leading technologies at the event.

Honeywell is ready to bring a lot of innovations this year, including solutions on safety, security and energy efficiency, he said, wished the upcoming CIIE a "very successful" one.

The CIIE is the first dedicated import exhibition in the world and the third CIIE is expected be held on Nov. 5-10 this year in Shanghai.

This year's CIIE has a planned exhibition area of 360,000 square meters, 60,000 square meters larger than the previous edition.

Calling the CIIE "one of the pieces of the success puzzle" for multinational corporations that are eyeing opportunities in China, Tedjarati noted that it is also crucial to focus on the characteristics and dynamics of the Chinese market.

"We treat China as a dynamic, bustling market that is going to grow and become a major world economy," he said.

In 2013, China became Honeywell's largest single country market outside the United States. The company currently operates more than 50 joint ventures or wholly-owned subsidiaries in over 30 Chinese cities with around 11,000 employees.

Tedjarati said that China's booming middle-class population will provide new opportunities to both the multinationals and local Chinese companies.

Earlier this year, Honeywell registered a wholly-owned subsidiary in the Chinese city of Wuhan as its headquarters for mass-mid segment business in China, one of its latest moves in response to China's growth and development.