The third China International Import Expo (CIIE) concluded on Tuesday, with tentative deals worth $72.62 billion reached for one-year purchases of goods and services, a 2.1 percent increase from the last expo, data from event organizers showed.
Sun Chenghai, deputy director of China International Import Expo Bureau said that the cooperation intentions of all parties have not been curtailed even with the COVID-19 epidemic still spreading.
The six-day exhibition was held on schedule despite the pandemic. Flocking to this year's CIIE were returnees from past expos as well as new faces, including nearly 50 Fortune 500 and industry-leading companies. Exhibitors from around the world have showcased cutting-edge technologies and new products and services at six pavilions.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the third CIIE that the hosting of the expo demonstrates China's sincere desire to share its market opportunities with the world and contribute to global economic recovery.
He added that the total import into China is estimated to top $22 trillion in the coming decade.
Noting that the opening-up measures he announced at last year's CIIE have been fully implemented, Xi pledged more open domestic and international circulations for not only China's own development needs but also the greater benefit of people in all countries.
Thanks to its effective pandemic control measures, China has made the swiftest recovery from the pandemic among major economies. In the first three quarters, its economy expanded by 0.7 percent from a year earlier. The country's total imports and exports also recorded positive year-on-year growth in the same period.
China has been promoting Double Development Dynamic (DDD), also known as "dual circulation" development pattern since May. The strategy indicates an economic development pattern that takes domestic development as the mainstay, with domestic and international development reinforcing each other.
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The first CIIE in 2018 saw deals for prospective one-year purchase of goods and services reach $57.83 billion, while deals from the Belt and Road countries reached $4.7 billion. At the second CIIE, the figure rose by 23 percent to $71.13 billion.