With one month to go before the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) opens in Shanghai, the import-themed fair is set to inject fresh momentum into the world economy as the number of participating companies, new products and technologies as well as the exhibition area will all surpass that of the first. 

The expo scheduled for November 5 to 10 will have an exhibition area of 360,000 square meters, up by 60,000 square meters from last year, China's Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said at a recent press conference.

As China's key move to actively open its market, the CIIE this year will attract more than 250 of the world's top 500 or leading companies, showing the fair's growing influence, he added.

Shared growth

Mohammad Nurus Safa, a Bangladeshi businessman, will soon have his second group of commodities shipped to Shanghai for the CIIE. "This year we will bring unique local embroidery products to the expo, so that more Bangladeshi people can share development opportunities brought by the 'China express train'," said Safa, founder of Dada Bangla Limited. 

Safa's company exhibited a variety of local jute handicrafts, such as carpets, baskets and bags, at the first CIIE in Shanghai last November. The products, many of which were made by impoverished women in Bangladesh, attracted attention of visitors and buyers. Thanks to the first CIIE, these Bangladeshi handicrafts are now showcased and sold at a high-end department store in Shanghai. 

"The CIIE opportunities are contributing to global poverty reduction efforts," Safa said. 

The import expo has indeed accelerated the entry of foreign brands into more inland regions in China, especially the country's third- to fifth-tier towns and cities, highlighting the potential of the huge Chinese market. 

Three months after the first CIIE, milk products of a New Zealand brand showcased at the expo appeared in a county supermarket in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. In a bonded trading center in southwestern Chongqing Municipality, foreign commodities such as Russian ice cream, Georgian wine and Kenyan decorations have become a hit among local consumers.

Wider opening up, new momentum

Over 3,000 enterprises from about 150 countries and regions have signed up for this year's CIIE. Many products, technologies and services, including solid and construction waste treatment equipment, will debut at the second CIIE.

"Set up by China and shared by the world, the CIIE injects vitality and confidence into the building of an open world economy," Zhong Shan said. 

Regarding the CIIE as a great platform to reach customers of every description, Fabrice Megarbane, CEO of L'Oreal China, said the company will exhibit 11 brands in the new high-end section of the consumer goods exhibition area. 

Meanwhile, China's new opening-up policies this year have provided greater impetus for foreign companies to increase investment in the world's second-largest economy, which realized 6.3-percent growth in the first half of this year despite global headwinds. 

On July 30, China put into force revised negative lists for foreign investment market access, introducing greater opening-up in such sectors as services, manufacturing and mining, and allowing foreign investors to run majority-share-controlling or wholly-owned businesses in more sectors.

In August, China announced a master plan for new pilot free trade zones (FTZs) in six provincial-level regions, bringing the total number of the country's pilot FTZs to 18, which test new styles of foreign investment management, trade facilitation and transformation of government functions to better integrate the economy with international practices. 

The import expo not only boosts the import of goods and services, but also promotes the upgrading of foreign investment through the pull of trade and the market, said Min Shilin, executive deputy director of the Administration Committee of Shanghai Hongqiao Central Business District. A bonded logistics center in the Hongqiao CBD was launched last month to offer one-stop trading services to support the CIIE. 

"In addition to the opportunities brought by the import expo itself, China's constantly enhanced business environment has also impressed us," said Anna E, public affairs director of Mars China.