The art and antiquities section of the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) yielded fruitful results on opening day.

Procurement intent involving seven artworks with a combined value of over 140 million yuan (about $21.9 million) was reached on Friday, according to the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism.

They are from six exhibitors including Sotheby's, Christie's and HENI, a UK-based international art institution.

Sotheby's is presenting a selection of masterworks by artists including Claude Monet, Marc Chagall, Alberto Giacometti, Yayoi Kusama and Zhang Daqian. The works serve as outstanding examples of each artist's oeuvre, spanning decades and traversing continents.

Christie's, another well-known auction house, is also presenting a range of masterworks by Eastern and Western art titans, including Francesco Guardi, Camille Pissarro, Marc Chagall and Zhang Daqian.

This year's expo has introduced tax exemption policies, allowing each institution participating in the event to trade five art and cultural relic pieces with zero tariffs within the expo period. This will encourage international arts trading and cultural exchanges, especially the return of China's cultural relics.

At last year's expo, the trade volume of five artworks totaled 297,600 yuan.

To further promote the artwork trading volume and the return of cultural relics, the CIIE has for the first time established a cultural relics and art section. Major auction houses made their debuts at the fourth iteration of the expo in the hope of attracting Chinese collectors.

The special section has an exhibition area of more than 1,200 square meters and hosts 178 exhibits with a total estimated value of 2.35 billion yuan.

(With input from Xinhua News Agency)