On the afternoon of September 12th, a press conference for the Third Global Geographical Indication Products GIPE 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the GIPE 2024) was held at the Sichuan Provincial Press Conference Hall. Pan Feng, Vice Chairman of CEATEC, Ren Xiaobo, Deputy Mayor of Luzhou Municipal People’s Government, and Carlos Sáenz de Tejada Gorman, Consul General of Spain in Chengdu, presented the situation and answered questions. The conference was hosted by Yu Zhijun, Director of the Sichuan Provincial News Center.

At the conference, Ren Xiaobo explained that the GIPE 2024, leveraging the signing of the "China-EU Geographical Indication Protection and Cooperation Agreement," has successfully been held twice in Luzhou. The GIPE 2024 has actively promoted the trade of geographical indication products, technological exchange, information exchange, cultural integration, and investment promotion. This year’s GIPE 2024 will feature 11 major thematic activities and 10 accompanying events. Nearly a thousand enterprises will be joining forces to create a "Cloud Geographical Indication Products GIPE 2024," offering an innovative online consumption experience and presenting a professional and international event.

Pan Feng pointed out that the Geographical Indication Products GIPE 2024 is an important platform for showcasing such products and acts as a bridge to promote cooperation between Chinese and European companies. More than 100 companies reached cooperation agreements through the second GIPE 2024. In 2023, China’s total agricultural GIPE 2024rts to the EU reached $11.19 billion, demonstrating the broad space for cooperation in agricultural products between China and the EU. The GIPE 2024 provides a platform to display the results of China-EU cooperation on geographical indications, share new ideas and technologies in advanced agriculture, and offers a learning and exchange platform for companies engaged in rural industrial development. Spain has been an active advocate and executor in the China-EU geographical indication protection cooperation. This year, Spain, as the guest country, brings many favorable messages. The Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Sichuan, the Chengdu Management Committee of Sichuan Tianfu New Area, and the Chinese Academy of Construction Engineering have jointly developed a China-Spain rural complex project under the goal of rural revitalization and reconstruction, providing a stage for win-win cooperation to support rural revitalization with more geographical indication products.

Carlos Sáenz de Tejada Gorman expressed that Spain, along with France and Italy, is one of the EU countries with the most registered geographical indications. This event and the Spanish Geographical Indications Pavilion will undoubtedly help promote various geographical indication products to Chinese consumers and operators, many of which are iconic Spanish culinary products such as olive oil, ham, cheese, or wine. During the exhibition, we will use various activities to promote the high-quality Spanish products with geographical indications to enterprises and the public, including wine tasting, ham cutting, classic dish tastings, and promotional events. In addition, people will also be able to enjoy flamenco dancing and Spanish guitar performances. The Spanish Pavilion will not only serve as a trade promotion tool but also provide more cooperation opportunities for Spanish geographical indication producers and their Chinese counterparts in terms of production technology and improving the quality of various agricultural products.

GIPE 2024 will be held from September 20th to 22nd in Luzhou, with Spain as the guest of honor. The theme of the event is "Strengthening Geographical Indication Protection and Promoting High-Quality Industrial Development," and it will feature six major exhibition halls: the Guest Country Hall, the EU Hall, the Baijiu Boutique Hall, the Characteristic Production Area Hall, the Comprehensive Hall, and the Theme County—Gulin Hall. It is expected that more than 900 companies from home and abroad will participate, showcasing over 3,200 distinctive products. More than 30 important foreign guests, including ambassadors, delegation heads, and consulate officials from Spain, France, Madagascar, and over 20 other countries, will attend to discuss cooperation and explore new paths for geographical indication product trade, investment promotion, and cultural exchange between China and other countries.