National Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai, China, October 22, 2023. /CFP
Guests from 154 countries, regions and international organizations are expected to join the Sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE), a Chinese official said at a press conference on Monday.
More than 3,400 exhibitors and 394,000 professional visitors have registered to attend, returning to levels before the pandemic, said Sheng Qiuping, China's vice minister of commerce.
The expo is scheduled to be held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10. Sheng noted that 289 of the world's top 500 and industry-leading enterprises will participate the event, reaching a new high.
As the world's first national-level expo dedicated to imports, the CIIE underscores China's unwavering dedication to promoting high-level opening-up.
The event has become an excellent platform for foreign enterprises to tap into China's big market, showcasing news products in areas of high-end equipment manufacturing, environmental protection, and biotechnology.
More than 400 new products, technologies and services will be exhibited at the sixth expo, Sheng said.
The previous five expos have seen about $350 billion of tentative deals made, contributing to stabilizing foreign trade and investment, said Sheng, adding that 322 exhibitors will be organized to make business trips in China in a bid to attract foreign investment.
Press conference on preparations for the Sixth China International Import Expo, Beijing, China, October 23, 2023. /CFP
Enthusiasm from participants
The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) will attend the CIIE for the sixth time in November, leading a business delegation of over 500 senior business representatives from 56 Singapore companies in search of fresh market opportunities.
Kok Ping Soon, CEO of the SBF, said the CIIE will see about 40 percent of Singapore exhibitors participating for the first time, while 60 percent are repeat exhibitors.
"The CIIE remains an essential platform for Singapore businesses to grow their business in the Chinese market, particularly in high-growth areas such as digital innovation and sustainability," Kok said.
According to the SBF's National Business Survey 2022/2023, 46 percent of Singapore companies surveyed have a presence in China. Among those companies that plan to expand overseas, 21 percent are keen to venture into China.
Musharaf Syed, founder and CEO of Herbaland Naturals Inc., Canada's leading nutritional gummy manufacturer, told Xinhua that the CIIE is very important for his company's business growth in the Chinese market.
"The Chinese market for foreign brands is very open, especially for Canadian companies," said Syed. "I encourage all Canadian companies to try the same as me. I tried four years ago and we are working good."
Agricultural products such as yellow dragon fruit from Ecuador and pineapples from Benin will enter the Chinese market via the upcoming expo. Before them, Chile's cherries have gained a foothold in the Chinese market.
"The CIIE provides an opportunity for foreign companies to show their products and to become well-known in the Chinese market. We are being part of it," said Hernan Garces Gazmuri, China Branch CEO of Chile's main cherry exporter Garces Fruit.
He told China Media Group that he has been attending the CIIE since its first expo, and nowadays about 82 percent of his company's cherries are sold to China. In order to manage this important market well, the Chilean exporter even moved his family to Shanghai.
An express line for South American cherries run by Liaoning Port Group opens in northeast China's Liaoning Province, January 11, 2023. The new line will transport Chilean cherries directly to Dalian port, providing for customers in northeast Asia. /CFP
Among the 72 national exhibitors of the CIIE next month, 64 are Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries, said Sun Chenghai, deputy director of the CIIE Bureau.
More than 1,500 companies from BRI partner countries have signed up for the enterprise exhibition, with their exhibition area totaling nearly 80,000 square meters, an increase of 30 percent from last year's event, Sun said.
For the least-developed BRI partner countries, the CIIE will help promote the entry of local specialty products into the Chinese market by providing free booths at the expo, and offering subsidies and preferential tax policies for the purchase of exhibits, Sun added.