2026 CIFTIS Opens in Beijing with Record Global Participation

The 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) officially opened Wednesday at Beijing’s Shougang Park, bringing together 90 countries, regions, and international organizations alongside more than 1,800 enterprises in what organizers describe as the largest services trade gathering of its kind. The five-day event, running through September 13, marks the first national-level comprehensive services trade exhibition in the opening year of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), according to Xinhua.

A Growing Global Platform

Since its inception 14 years ago, CIFTIS has evolved from a modest 50,000-square-meter exhibition into the world’s largest comprehensive services trade fair, now headquartered permanently at the repurposed steel mill complex in Beijing’s Shijingshan District. Over its history, the fair has connected more than 1.1 million visitors globally, as Xinhua English reported.

This year’s edition features 1,830-plus enterprises exhibiting offline, including 473 Fortune Global 500 companies, according to CGTN. The fair encompasses nine themed exhibitions spanning telecommunications, finance, culture and tourism, education, sports, health, environment, and transportation, alongside more than 190 forums, conferences, and business matchmaking activities.

Norway serves as this year’s Guest Country of Honor, establishing a national pavilion of approximately 260 square meters at the venue. Norwegian Commercial Counselor Han Ning noted that China is Norway’s largest trading partner in Asia, with about 160 Norwegian companies operating in China. “We hope to use CIFTIS to continuously expand areas of cooperation,” Han said at a pre-fair press conference, as 21st Century Business Herald reported. Guangxi serves as the Guest Province of Honor under the theme “Beautiful Trade in Guangxi.”

’China Services’ Takes Center Stage

A defining feature of this year’s fair is the first-ever “China Services” exhibition zone, positioned prominently within the main themed exhibition area. The zone showcases more than 140 representative cases spanning 12 service trade sectors, with nearly 40 percent involving artificial intelligence, large language models, or intelligent agents.

“Today, a number of cases have established a firm foothold in the international market, demonstrating the strong momentum of Chinese services going global,” said Piao Xuedong, director of the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau, as reported by Xinhua.

More than 100 enterprises and institutions, including Alibaba, will present over 100 debut products and achievements at the fair, covering artificial intelligence, healthcare, cultural exports, and green low-carbon solutions. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is co-hosting the Global Trade in Services Summit for the first time, alongside UNCTAD, China’s Ministry of Commerce, and the Beijing Municipal Government.

Supporting Chinese Enterprises Going Global

The fair has also introduced first-ever “Going Global” service zones across multiple themed exhibitions, alongside a dedicated roadshow area for outbound investment promotion. More than 40 promotional roadshows will feature financial, legal, accounting, intellectual property, and human resources service providers offering professional support for Chinese enterprises expanding overseas.

“Currently, enterprises going global face not just competition on cost-effectiveness, but comprehensive competition in rule adaptation capability, compliance management capability, and risk response capability,” said Li Yao, China managing partner of KPMG’s Global China Business Development Center. “The newly established Going Global services zone could not have come at a better time,” Li added, as Xinhua reported.

The “Going Global” focus reflects a broader shift in China’s services trade trajectory. In the first half of 2026, China’s total services imports and exports reached 3.8 trillion yuan (approximately $566.2 billion), up 8.3 percent year-on-year, with service exports growing 17.6 percent. Knowledge-intensive services accounted for 53.5 percent of total service exports, marking a 3-percentage-point increase from the end of 2025.

Exports of intellectual property royalties surged 44.3 percent, financial services grew 25.9 percent, and transport services rose 25.4 percent, according to CGTN. China’s overall services trade volume now exceeds $1 trillion.

From ‘Major Country’ to ‘Strong Country’ in Services Trade

Analysts see the fair as a barometer of China’s transition from a “major country” to a “strong country” in services trade. Li Jun, director of the Institute of International Service Trade at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, noted that “services consumption and services trade have become important pillars supporting economic growth, smoothing circulation, and enhancing competitiveness,” as reported by Xinhua.

Wang Tuoxuan, Deloitte China’s managing partner for North and West China, offered a broader perspective: “CIFTIS is not simply a fair to ‘sell services.’ It transforms policy texts into perceivable industrial scenarios, promotes the overseas application of Chinese service standards, and effectively promotes mutual understanding among countries and joint rule-building.”

A Venue Transformed

The fair’s permanent home at Shougang Park itself tells a story of transformation. Once a sprawling steel manufacturing complex, the site hosted venues for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics before being repurposed as a convention and exhibition destination. New buildings incorporate “steel gray,” “rust red,” and “metallic silver” color schemes that blend seamlessly with the industrial landscape, as the Shijingshan District Government detailed.

This year, three halls have undergone upgrades, with construction approximately 80 percent complete as of June and full completion expected by August 15. The park hosted more than 240 events and drew 14.38 million visitors in 2025, with 6.8 million visitors in the first five months of 2026 alone—a 37 percent year-on-year increase.

Beyond the exhibition halls, organizers have arranged 11 business inspection routes and 74 supporting events, including cultural performances and consumer markets, linking the fair with Beijing’s broader commercial districts.

Outlook and Implications

Vice Minister of Commerce Yan Dong signaled that further policy support is on the horizon. “China’s services trade development will welcome many more favorable policies in the next step,” Yan said. “Policies and measures such as the services industry capacity expansion and quality improvement will take effect, creating a better environment for high-level opening and high-quality development of services trade,” he added, as Xinhua reported.

Beijing has already expanded its negative list for data cross-border flows from pilot free trade zones to the entire city, covering nine sectors. Other Chinese cities are pursuing similar initiatives—Shanghai is developing aircraft international service chains, Guangzhou is advancing financial and foreign legal services, and Chengdu is building digital cultural creative export clusters.

An Economic Daily commentary published Wednesday observed: “Through the window of the 2026 CIFTIS, the world sees not only the scale and growth rate of China’s services trade, but also China’s firm choice to proactively open its services market and share development opportunities with all countries.”

As the fair unfolds over the coming days, observers will be watching for concrete cooperation agreements, new policy signals, and the depth of international engagement—particularly from the 90 participating countries and organizations. The event’s evolution from a showcase into a platform for rule-building and standard-setting will be a key indicator of China’s ambitions in reshaping global services trade architecture.