Launching Monday, the China International Import Exhibition (CIIE) will be the-first-of-its-kind international trade expo. Unlike an average international trade exposition which deals with either exports alone or both exports and imports, the CIIE will focus on imports only.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has been reported to have proposed the CIIE himself. He is expected to deliver a keynote speech at the expo's welcome ceremony, thus making it the first Chinese trade fair that the top leader is expected to attend. The CIIE is unique.

The CIIE will be an exhibition, an exhibition of China's market mobility and potential. More than 3,000 companies from over 130 countries have confirmed participation in the mega trade fair, with a total booth area of 270,000 square meters. For some of China's trade partners, they are betting on the CIIE to increase and diversify their exports to the lucrative Chinese market, hopeful that the global powerhouse may turn to them as a source market owing to the ongoing trade war with the United States. For others, they are eyeing the import expo to address trade imbalances between China and themselves.

The first import expo is expected to generate a trade volume of hundreds of billion US dollars, thus injecting vitality into the trade relations between China and its trade partners. One has reason to believe that traders across the world cannot afford to ignore the China market. The CIIE is also a stimulus, if not a gospel, to the traders whose confidence has been inflicted by the depression associated with protectionism.

It showcases China's determination to open its market wider. The country has been accused of engaging in mercantile trade behaviors and failing to live up to its WTO commitments concerning market access. The import expo will be proof that mercantilism is not what China practices; instead the country is more interested in meeting – even at a time of hardship – the growing demands of the market for quality goods and services, regardless of their origin. The CIIE will provide Chinese consumers with easy and regular access to quality foreign goods and services.

The CIIE will also send a clear message that China is committed to free trade even when China is having a hard time due to the rise of unilateralism and protectionism as represented by the United States, in particular, erecting trade barriers against its trade partners, including imposing hefty tariffs on 250 billion US dollars' worth of Chinese goods.

Nevertheless, as a Chinese saying goes, "crisis often harbors opportunity." It could also be the right time for China to further open its door to the outside world. The country's resolve to promote free trade and open its market wider has never been stronger even in the face of adversity. This is what the CIIE is going to tell.