Economic Watch: What to expect from upcoming China International Import Expo

A truck carrying exhibits of the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) from New Zealand and the South Pacific regions arrives at Cosco shipping logistics in Shanghai, east China, Oct. 17, 2023. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

BEIJING, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) has been well-prepared, and will provide more market, investment and growth opportunities and create synergy for common development, an official said Monday.

The expo, scheduled for Nov. 5-10 in Shanghai, is a showcase for China's new development paradigm, a platform for high-standard opening up, and a public good for the whole world, said Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping at a press conference.

The following is an overview of what to expect from this year's expo:

As the world's first import-themed national-level expo, the CIIE has built international platforms for overseas procurement, investment promotion, people-to-people exchanges and open cooperation, and has won great enthusiasm from all parties, said Sheng.

The sixth CIIE is expected to attract guests from 154 countries, regions and international organizations, said Sheng, adding that over 3,400 exhibitors and 394,000 professional visitors have registered to attend the event, representing a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels.

A total of 69 countries and three international organizations have confirmed their participation in the country exhibitions, of which 11 countries will make their debuts and 34 will participate in offline exhibitions for the first time.

The exhibition area of the expo will be around 367,000 square meters, and 289 Global Fortune 500 companies and industry-leading enterprises are poised to attend the expo, both exceeding the previous levels, said Sheng.

Currently, over 1,500 enterprises from Belt and Road partner countries are gearing up to participate in the sixth CIIE, with their exhibition area totaling nearly 80,000 square meters, an increase of 30 percent from last year's event.

An array of new products in areas of high-end equipment manufacturing, environmental protection and biotechnology will be initiated at the year's CIIE, while exotic agricultural products such as yellow dragon fruit from Ecuador and pineapples from Benin will enter the Chinese market via the expo, he said.

The previous five expos have seen about 350 billion U.S. dollars' worth of tentative deals, contributing to stabilizing foreign trade and investment, said Sheng, adding that 322 CIIE exhibitors will be organized to make business trips in China in a bid to attract foreign investment.

At this year's Hongqiao International Economic Forum, an important part of the CIIE, the World Openness Report 2023 and the latest World Openness Index will be released, said Sheng.

The CIIE will continue to serve high-quality development and high-level opening up in the next step, he said.