The fifth CIIE to welcome more participants

The China International Import Expo, which has been widely hailed as the premiere platform for foreign businesses to tap into the myriad opportunities in the Chinese market, will be held in Shanghai for the fifth time from Nov 5 to 10.

A total of 145 countries, regions and international organizations have confirmed their participation, according to Sun Chenghai, deputy director-general of the CIIE Bureau, who made the remarks at a press conference on Nov 1.

The world’s first national-level import-themed trade fair launched in 2018, the expo will once again comprise a business exhibition, a country exhibition and the Hongqiao International Economic Forum.

Eight countries – Nicaragua, Djibouti, Mauritania, Comoros, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq and Iceland – will attend the country exhibition for the first time.

In addition, all member states of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will have companies taking part in the expo. The number of participating countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has also increased.

A total of 284 of the world’s top 500 enterprises and industry giants will be present at the business exhibition, and hundreds of new products, technologies and services will be exhibited at the six major exhibition areas – Food and Agricultural Products, Intelligent Industry and Information Technology, Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products, Consumer Goods, Trade in Services, and Automobiles, Sun said.

In line with the nation’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and targets through 2035, the event has established special subsections for the crop seed industry and artificial intelligence, optimized the special subsection for low-carbon energy and environmental protection technology, and expanded the innovation and incubation subsection. More than 150 startups specialized in technological equipment, consumer products, and the medical and automotive fields will present their products and services at the innovation and incubation subsection.

An integral part of the CIIE, this year’s Hongqiao International Economic Forum will focus more on topics related to global openness, with the number of sub-forums expanding from 14 to 24.

Some parallel sessions will be co-hosted by ministries and commissions, think tanks and a number of international organizations, including the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Population Fund, and the United Nations Global Compact, etc. Five of these forums will have keynote speeches delivered by Nobel laureates.

Nearly 20 authoritative reports, including the World Openness Report 2022, will be released during the forum.