Australian companies attend China’s service trade fair in record numbers, eye vast opportunities

From wines to health products, Australian brands are attending this year's China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in record numbers, eyeing China's vast market. China provides vast opportunities for Australian products, while Australian goods and services meet China's diverse market needs, a Chinese analyst noted.

Australia is the guest country of honor at the 2025 CIFTIS, leading its largest-ever delegation to the event. The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), leading the Australian participation at the Australian National Pavilion, said in a press release sent to the Global Times on Wednesday that this year, the scale of Australia's participation - in both space of the national pavilion and the number of Australian exhibitors - has set a new record for CIFTIS.

Nearly 60 Australian organizations and companies are exhibiting this year, and the size of the Australian National Pavilion has tripled from last year, making it the largest pavilion at the CIFTIS as the guest country of honor to date, according to Austrade.

China and Australia have seen rapid growth in trade since 2024, fueled by high-level engagement at both the government and business levels, highlighting the strong complementarity between the two major trading partners, Chinese analysts noted.

Since China and Australia resolved a trade dispute over wine in March 2024, the business of Australia's wine group Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has seen a swift recovery.

Tom King, managing director of Penfolds, a brand under TWE, said in a written interview with the Global Times on Wednesday that "China continues to play a very important role in TWE and Penfolds global strategy, with the market serving as an important growth engine."

"Re-establishing our Australian portfolio into China over the past year has seen a very positive response from customers and consumers. China is a critical growth market for premium wine exports and demand for premium Australian wines among Chinese consumers remains strong," King said.

TWE, Australia's largest stand-alone winemaker, reported underlying net profit after tax of A$470.6 million ($310.62 million) and 16 percent growth in its annual underlying profit for the financial year 2025, which ended on June 30, partly driven by robust demand for its flagship Penfolds business in China, Reuters reported.

In addition to companies such as TWE, which has been in the Chinese market for a long time, a number of "newer" Australian companies including dairy brand Auscare Group and health supplements maker EZZ Life Science Holdings from the food and consumer sector are also attending the fair, looking for opportunities to brand their products and establish business contacts.

Hope Dong, CEO of Auscare Group, told the Global Times on Wednesday that as a first-timer at the event, the company looks to brand its products.

"We see Chinese consumers' demand for high-quality products and services continuing to rise, and their awareness of health and environmental protection improving constantly. The demand for nutritious, green and environmentally friendly products is increasing daily, which provides more market opportunities for companies. We believe that this is just the beginning of a future that is limitless in potential," Dong said.

Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that China's large market, ongoing consumption upgrading, and expanding middle-income population are fueling sustained demand for higher-value products from overseas markets.

"The Chinese market is a core market for Australian companies that possess comparative advantages in sectors such as food, health supplements, maternal and infant products, and wine," Song said. "The record attendance at the CIFTIS this year has also been fueled by businesses' anticipation of a steady recovery in the Chinese market. Australian firms' active participation in the fair demonstrates their strong confidence in China's economic prospects and consumption recovery."

In recent years, China-Australia relations had experienced a difficult period. However, with the improvement of political relations, economic and trade relations are expected to rebound, Song said. "Despite differences between Australia and China, the high degree of economic complementarity between the two countries is an objective fact, and Australia greatly needs the Chinese market. For China, high-quality Australian goods are also of great value."