International business leaders and diplomats pose for a group photo at the Potside Chats "CIIE Roundtable: New Horizons" salon in Shanghai on Nov 9, 2025. [Photo/China Daily]

Business leaders and diplomats convened in Shanghai on Nov 9 for the Potside Chats "CIIE Roundtable: New Horizons" salon to explore opportunities arising from China's vast consumer market and the China International Import Expo.

Organized by the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government and China Daily, the event served as a platform for dialogue, offering insights into China's evolving consumer trends, business environment, and the global impact of its high-level opening-up.

Eric Zheng, president of AmCham Shanghai, emphasized China's growing consumer demand. "China is at a stage where consumers are ready to shop. That's why CIIE is so important, to showcase foreign brands, including American brands," Zheng said, noting a shift in focus towards consumption in China's development plans.

Highlighting the consistent participation of US companies at the CIIE, Zheng said, "Despite all the political tensions between the two countries, our companies have been here consistently. They see China as a very strategic market for them."

Oscar Felipe Rueda Plata, commercial counselor of the Embassy of Colombia in China, shared his observations on distinctive Chinese consumer behaviors.

He cited the popularity of "Labubu dolls", the Zibo barbecue trend, live-streaming commerce, and the Luckin Coffee and Guizhou Moutai collaboration, emphasizing that consumer behavior in China is "unpredictable, emotional, and collective."

Sources： https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202511/11/WS6912afc5a310fc20369a46c4.html

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