The grand opening of the 2025 Service Trade Fair at Shougang Park

On September 10, the Global Trade Summit of the 2025 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) was held at Shougang Park, marking the opening of the 2025 CIFTIS. President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the conference.

This year's China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) marks the first time the event has been held entirely at a single venue. The Shougang Park complex fully hosts CIFTIS functions, with the core exhibition area exceeding 100,000 square meters, featuring a theme exhibition and nine specialized exhibitions. Notably, the summit and theme exhibition are held at Shougang Park for the first time, elevating the overall international profile. The No. 4 Blast Furnace, serving as the gateway venue for the CIFTIS, preserves the rich heritage of industrial relics while being transformed into an international venue with a grand national presence. The second-floor exhibition hall of the No. 4 Blast Furnace underwent high-standard renovations to become the venue for this year's Global Services Trade Summit.

Blast Furnace No. 4 was Shougang's first modern large-scale blast furnace with a capacity of 2,000 cubic meters, making an indelible contribution to the capital's development. In 2024, the furnace and its ancillary facilities underwent comprehensive renovation to become the Shougang International Convention and Exhibition Center complex, making its debut at that year's China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS). In 2025, Seagate seized the significant opportunity presented by the CIFTIS's innovative development to advance the transformation and functional reinvention of industrial heritage sites. Furnace No. 4 underwent further upgrades, forming a “one core, multiple points” exhibition layout centered around the furnace, interspersed with distinctive “mountain-water-industrial heritage” features. This design harmoniously blends historical context with dynamic expression, creating a highly recognizable model of urban renewal.

This year's China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) adopts the theme “Digital Intelligence Leads the Way, Trade in Services Innovates,” aligning with the trends of digitalization, intelligentization, and greening in the service trade sector. It focuses on specialized fields such as artificial intelligence, healthcare, smart logistics, and the integrated development of commerce, tourism, culture, sports, and wellness, showcasing innovative achievements from multiple countries and regions. The event features six categories of activities: the Global Service Trade Summit, exhibitions, forums and conferences, business negotiations and promotions, achievement releases, and supporting events. Eighty-five countries and international organizations, including Australia, Germany, and the World Intellectual Property Organization, have set up exhibitions and conferences. Among them, 25 countries and international organizations have exhibitions in the theme exhibition, with participating countries covering all five continents. Nearly 2,000 enterprises participated in the offline exhibition, including nearly 500 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders. The event covered 26 of the top 30 countries and regions in service trade, with an internationalization rate exceeding 20%.

During the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), 13 thematic forums, 82 specialized forums, and 81 business negotiation and promotion events will be held. Over 260 high-level guests, including ministers from China and abroad, heads of international organizations, ambassadors to China, and academicians, will participate in exchanges and discussions. Authoritative reports such as the China Service Trade Development Report will be released to guide industry development. Additionally, over 40 diverse supporting events will be organized to foster new service consumption models. These include cultural, commercial, tourism, and sports integration activities such as artistic performances, consumer markets, sporting events, and networking receptions. These initiatives will promote the integrated development of service consumption, trade in services, and service investment. Eleven inspection routes will be introduced, and more relaxed negotiation and rest areas will be added to enhance the experience for exhibitors and attendees.

This year marks the fifth consecutive hosting of the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) at the Shougang Park. This steel city, bearing a century of industrial heritage, has now undergone a magnificent transformation into an international exhibition landmark and the “Eastern Hub” for global trade in services. Through the lens of Shougang Park's evolution, the seamless integration of industrial heritage with modern exhibitions not only showcases Beijing's outstanding achievements in urban renewal but also symbolizes China's journey in transforming its trade in services from traditional to high-end and intelligent sectors. Shougang Park demonstrates to the world that urban renewal is not about tearing down and rebuilding, but about enabling history to converse with the future; that urban revitalization extends beyond spatial reshaping to harnessing endogenous momentum to unlock boundless possibilities. The world will collectively witness how this steel city, wielding service trade as its pen, continues to write a new chapter of urban rebirth for the new era.