The year 2022 marks the 70th anniversary of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), an institution aiming at strengthening the bonds of interest between Chinese and foreign businesses.
In the past 70 years, the Beijing based organization has played a stellar role in embellishing China’s trade credentials and percolating the accrued benefits to the global economy.
In 1950, China’s total trade volume was just $1.14 billion, accounting for 0.9 percent of the world total, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC), and the country was ranked 27th on the trade ladder at that time.
However, with the setting up of the CCPIT in May 1952, these numbers and rankings have gone up steadily.
In 2021, China’s foreign trade volume reached $6.05 trillion, according to GAC, with the annual growth of export and import hitting 29.9 percent and 30.1 percent respectively.
In 1957, the first China Export Commodities Fair hosted by CCPIT opened in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, becoming an important window for the country to forge trade ties with the outside world. It was also the beginning of the Canton Fair, which has since become the barometer of global trade.
In 1988, CCPIT established China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC) as a body to function as a chamber of commerce. According to the organization, the number of CCOIC members had reached 301,000 by the end of last year, becoming one of the most influential foreign-related chambers of commerce organizations in China internationally.
