Interview: Tapping Chinese market potential to benefit world, says Orient Group chief

Being able to exploit the Chinese market and tapping its consumer potential will benefit all companies worldwide, Javier Junquera, president of the Orient Group, has said.

More than 640 international companies are due to take part in the first China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, the capital of South China's Hainan Province, from May 7 to 10.

"It is a unique occasion for large multinationals, not only because they will be able to exhibit their products worldwide, but also because they will be made known to the Chinese public, which has become an attractive consumer," said Junquera, leader of the Orient Group, the first Spanish business group specialized in providing law services to the Chinese community residing in Spain.

China has become one of the most powerful markets in the world due to its economic expansion over the past 40 years, Junquera said in an interview with Xinhua. And China is the only country that can be relied on to increase its per capita income every year due to its ongoing economic and social transformation.

Traveling to Haikou, large companies become involved not only in the Chinese market, but also in the Chinese culture, and Chinese consumers have been changing from saving money to being willing to spend money on consumer goods, he said.

"Competitiveness and the culture of business have always been barriers for global investors," he said. And events such as the CICPE help to resolve these differences to break into the Chinese market.

"Presenting products in Haikou, where the ports are duty-free, is a great opportunity for a growing market such as China," said Junquera, deeming this initiative a great strategy for internationalization.

The global market, he said, needs to realize that internationalization has both good and bad things; it allows companies to expand their business circle, but makes them to compete with more rivals.

In short, they have to deal with the law of supply and whoever adapts best to the competition will take the prize, he said.