Editor's note: Li Rui is an assistant professor at the School of Economics, Fudan University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Shanghai is once again where the world has come to sell. The ninth China International Import Expo (CIIE), running from November 5 to 10, has drawn 162 countries, regions and international organizations, along with a record 4,142 overseas exhibitors. Its exhibition area has topped 440,000 square meters for the first time, and more than 480 exhibits are making their global, Asian or Chinese debuts.

One figure stands out. American companies have taken more than 50,000 square meters, 1,500 square meters more than last year, and for the eighth edition in a row they are occupying more space than any other country's firms. Regulars such as Medtronic and Cargill are back in force, and Ralph Lauren has joined for the first time.

That invites a fair question: With corporate giants from advanced economies in the spotlight, is the CIIE a club for rich friends only?

The other side of the expo floor tells us otherwise. This year, free booth space for the least developed countries (LDCs) has grown by 17%, and the zone for Asian and African products has been upgraded to help African countries make the most of China's zero tariffs. Visitors can find Beninese pineapples and Afghan saffron. Côte d'Ivoire, sending an official delegation for the first time, has brought cocoa, coffee and cashews; Kenya, coffee and avocados; Zimbabwe, horticultural produce, processed foods and leather goods. Bigger booths for American firms and more free space for the developing economies: Together they show what openness means.

This is not a one-off gesture. The expo has offered LDCs free standard booths since its first edition in 2018. In 2024, it supported 37 LDCs with more than 120 free booths. Last year, it opened its first zone for LDC products, and the number of African exhibitors rose 80%. With tax breaks for exhibits bought after the show, bonded display and cross-border e-commerce, a one-time chance to exhibit is becoming a steady trade channel.

A small booth can lead to lasting change. A Rwandan exhibitor first brought five kilograms of chili samples in a suitcase; five years later, in 2025, he shipped 300 tons by container, and his company was working with 3,000 farmers. An Ethiopian exhibitor started with a nine-square-meter booth; thanks to a bonded "front shop, back warehouse" model, it now trades year-round, with turnover above 10 million yuan (about $1.5 million). Beyond six days of deals, the expo helps small firms short of channels, information and capital build the capacity to enter the Chinese market.

That capacity is backed by institutional openness. Since December 1, 2024, China has applied zero tariffs to 100% of tariff lines for all LDCs with which it has diplomatic ties. Since May 1 this year, the treatment has covered all 53 African countries with diplomatic ties, making China the first major economy to grant them all unilateral, full-coverage zero tariffs. The effects are visible: In May and June, China's imports from Africa rose 23.5% year on year. The expo opens the door; lower tariffs keep it open.

Why is China willing to do all this? To begin with, it is no one-way giveaway. More coffee, sesame, fruit, honey and handicrafts mean more choice for Chinese consumers. In 2025, China's imports from LDCs hit a record 606.8 billion yuan, including 41.7 billion yuan of farm produce, over 100 times the 2001 figure. Ethiopia overtook Brazil and Vietnam last year as China's biggest coffee supplier.  

More important, closer trade ties widen the room for both sides to grow. China's trade with LDCs reached 1.69 trillion yuan in 2025, up from 51.4 billion yuan in 2001, and 77.2% of its exports to them were capital and intermediate goods. This is not a simple swap of raw materials for consumer goods: Chinese machinery and inputs feed local industry and farming. In Bangladesh, China's largest LDC export market, the share is 86.2%; Chinese yarn, fabrics and textile machinery have helped lay the foundation for Dhaka’s rise as the world's second largest garment exporter.

Free booths are not charity stalls. They cultivate more diverse and resilient trading partners. A country whose products sell and whose industries grow will import more and cooperate more reliably. China buys their quality products and supplies the equipment, technology and inputs for their growth: a two-way exchange built to last.

The CIIE welcomes American companies, and it welcomes Rwandan chilies, Beninese pineapples and Afghan saffron. There is no contradiction. Real openness does not choose between rich and poor or allocate booths along geopolitical lines; it gives economies of every size and stage of development a chance to find partners. America's 50,000-plus square meters and the 17% rise in free booth space for LDCs tell the same story: Openness is not an either-or choice, and cooperation need not take a single form.

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