HAIKOU, China, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) — Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido has decided to participate in the first China International Consumer Products Expo, to be held in Haikou, capital of Hainan Province, from May 7 to 10, 2021.

After participating in the China International Import Expo in 2019 and 2020 in Shanghai, the Japanese company has become the first cosmetics firm to sign a contract with the Haikou expo, according to event organizer, Hainan Provincial Bureau of International Economic Development.

Kentaro Fujiwara, Shiseido China CEO, said the expo will create a global platform for international investors to display and trade consumer products. “Shiseido is very optimistic about this new opportunity.”

China has become Shiseido’s largest overseas market for three consecutive years, according to Fujiwara. “The company has deeply felt the advantages brought about by China’s economic development. The success in epidemic prevention and control in China has made us more confident of developing in the country,” he said.

China in early June released a master plan for building Hainan into a globally influential free-trade port. From July 1, Hainan increased its annual tax-free shopping quota from 30,000 yuan (about 4,587 U.S. dollars) to 100,000 yuan per person.

Now the resort island has become a shopping paradise. Offshore duty-free shops in Hainan are expected to rake in 32 billion yuan in sales by the end of this year. The shops have received 10.83 million tourists, and about 3.4 million customers have purchased 19.06 million items, a jump of 130 percent compared with the same period last year.

As an important part of the plan, the China International Consumer Products Expo will be held on the island every year.

“Taking advantage of Hainan’s duty-free policy, the new expo will act as a platform for global consumer product brands to get access to China’s huge consumer market and thus help promote the country’s new development paradigm of ‘dual circulation’,” according to Liu Jiacheng, professor at the school of economics and management of Hainan University.

The planned exhibition area of the expo is about 100,000 square meters, about 80 percent of which has been reserved for overseas companies. The items on display cover a rich variety of products including garments, gems, food and health products, automobiles, as well as electronic and cultural goods.

“The expo will also organize various on-site events. We will also try livestreaming and other trendy promotions at the expo,” said Han Shengjian, director of Hainan Provincial Bureau of International Economic Development.