Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Recruits Participating Companies for the 9th China International Import Expo… Expanding Support for Entry into China’s Consumer Goods Market

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Acting Mayor Kim Kyung-duk, announced that it will recruit six local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate in the 9th China International Import Expo through June 10 in cooperation with the Busan Regional Headquarters of the Korea International Trade Association, headed by Kwon Do-gyeom, and will support their participation in the exhibition.

The China International Import Expo is the world’s first national-level exhibition dedicated to imports. Since its inaugural event in 2018, this year marks its ninth edition.

The exhibition will be held in Shanghai, China, from November 5 to 10 for six days. Busan Metropolitan City plans to select six local companies in consumer goods sectors such as cosmetics, processed food products, and household goods, and support their participation through a Busan Pavilion within the Korea Joint Pavilion.

The city has continuously supported participation in this exhibition since 2018 to help local companies establish a foundation for entering the Chinese market.

In particular, this year the city has substantially expanded exhibition participation support funding to ease the financial burden on companies.

The existing support amount had remained at approximately KRW 7 million for more than a decade, while concerns were consistently raised by participating companies that rising exhibition costs and support levels offered by other local governments made participation financially burdensome.

In response, the city has reflected industry feedback and significantly increased the maximum support amount available to each company to KRW 9.5 million.

The expanded support funding may be used for booth rental and installation costs, interpretation services, transportation of exhibits, and additional booth installation expenses.

In addition, one representative from each company will be eligible for separate support covering 50 percent of round-trip airfare, up to a maximum of KRW 250,000, bringing total support to as much as KRW 9.75 million per company.

The city expects this initiative to provide practical assistance to local companies seeking entry into the Chinese market, particularly as exports of local consumer goods have recently shown signs of recovery.

As of the cumulative total through April this year, exports of local consumer goods—including cosmetics, food products, and household goods—reached USD 662 million, an increase of 55.2 percent compared to the same period last year. Exports of consumer goods to China totaled USD 47 million, up 128.8 percent year-on-year, indicating growing potential in China’s consumer goods market.

Furthermore, Company S, a local cosmetics manufacturer that has participated in the exhibition for three consecutive years, is cited as a representative success case of expanding its foothold in the Chinese market through the China International Import Expo.

A representative of Company S stated, “The China International Import Expo was more than a simple product exhibition; it provided an important opportunity to directly identify local online and offline distribution channels and establish ongoing relationships with buyers. Following our participation, our connections with major Chinese distribution channels expanded, and we were also able to conduct product promotions and live-streaming events through Xiaohongshu, one of China’s leading social commerce platforms.”

Companies wishing to participate must submit an application form and evaluation-related documents through the city’s Export Support Platform (https://trade.bepa.kr) by June 10.

Eligible applicants are SMEs with export sales of no more than USD 30 million in the previous year. Companies that have participated for three consecutive years are not eligible to apply.

Kim Bong-cheol, Assistant Mayor of Digital Economy Office, stated, “Local companies have consistently expressed concerns that exhibition participation support funding was insufficient to cover actual costs. This year, we have significantly expanded the level of support in response to those voices from the field, and we hope that outstanding consumer goods companies will be able to pursue new market opportunities in China without financial burden.”