Han Zheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, announced the official launch of the China Brand Day event on Sunday.

The 2020 China Brand Day online was officially launched on Sunday, making it the first state-level exhibition since the COVID-19 outbreak, as China reiterates the importance of brand construction to fuel high-quality economic growth.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang sent an important notice to the event, and further outlined the significance of brand building to enhance the quality and influence of Chinese products and services.

More efforts on brand building are an important part of expanding domestic demand, and the push for high quality economic development.

"All parties should raise brand awareness and attach more attention to professional spirits and craftsmanship, in order to build more high-quality and premium brands," he noted. "This would help to raise competitiveness and also cater to consumption upgrades as well as boost further economic development," Li said.

Han Zheng, one member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, announced the official launch of the China Brand Day event at 10am on Sunday.

The annual China Brand Day event and the Exposition on China Indigenous Brand was first held in Shanghai in 2018 after the State Council approved the establishment of the "China Brand Day" on May 10 every year.

He Lifeng, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of National Development and Reform Commission,  also gave a keynote speech.

Altogether 1,300 domestic brands are participating in the exhibition this year through a total of 38 virtual exhibition halls featuring provincial specialties and indigenous brands.

The theme for the China Brand Day event this year is "China Brand, World Sharing; All-Round Moderate Prosperity; Sophisticated Life; Power of Brand-Combating COVID-19 in Full Swing.”

Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang said in a keynote speech that the city will actively push for the integration of online and offline resources to help time-honored brands embrace new market trends, to help new  brands prosper and help well-known brands to expand in the international market.

　　Chen Zhengbao

Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang delivers a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of China Brand Day on Sunday.

The International Forum on China Brand Development, also part of the annual China Brand Day event, was held through livestreaming from two forum sites in Beijing and Shanghai.

"Technology upgrades have hastened brand development, and government bodies have been striving to provide new application scenarios for innovative technologies and new ideas," said Jiang Xiaojuan, dean of the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University. Jiang is also a member of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress and vice chairman of the NPC Social Construction Committee.

"As economic development enters the new stage, we need more high value-added products to boost high-quality development, and brand building will play an essential role," she told the forum.

Online platforms also play a vital role for new brands to grow and prosper, she noted.

The virtual exhibition formats will help local enterprises to showcase their innovative ideas and products to online viewers for a longer period.

Through digital channels such as Douyin, Bilibili and Tencent's media platform, it's estimated the event will attract 50 million viewers, much higher than the average visitor number of around 60,000 in previous years.

Shanghai's digital exhibition hall will feature a virtual Oriental Pearl Tower's sphere as the main venue and the city's nightscape on both sides of the Huangpu River as the backdrop. Visitors will interact with the expo via video, text, graphics and live broadcasts.

It will include 40 key local products from three strategic industries, namely, the integrated circuit, artificial intelligence and biomedicine, along with key players of the digital economy. This fits with Shanghai's latest action plan to promote new technologies and boost economic recovery.

Five livestreaming shows will be offered with Shanghai enterprises covering themes ranging from emerging digital economies, latest consumption trends, cutting-edge medical devices and beauty trends through May 12.

Local medical devices, pharma and tech companies will also exhibit products and services that have been used to fight the coronavirus epidemic in recent months.

A number of action plans have been unveiled by the city to carry out an integrated approach for local brands to revitalize businesses.

Shanghai will continue to implement these policies to help home-grown brands build up momentum  and to further leverage the city’s free trade zone and the Yangtze River Delta development scheme to attract more local brands to prosper.

Alibaba said in its latest China consumer brands development report that two thirds of digital sales are dominated by local brands with the biggest growth recorded in pharma and health care, beauty and personal care, food and beverage sectors.

More than 80 percent of market share in furniture, home electronic appliances, and decoration items are dominated by local brands, according to Alibaba data.

New product types and innovations have helped push forward the overall market size.

JD today also unveiled a stimulus package for home grown brands to help them broaden accessibility for online shoppers through offering marketing promotional stimulus and more online exposure.