CIIE Acts As a Stabilizer that Facilitates Smooth Trade Flow

The China International Import Expo, set to begin on Wednesday in Shanghai, aims to reaffirm China's commitment to further opening its markets while promoting trade and investment in a world that urgently needs to dismantle various barriers.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend the opening ceremony and relevant events, and deliver a keynote speech.

"The event has served as a 'resilient hub' for multilateral exchanges of goods and services," stated Zhang Guangting, an associate research fellow at the Institute of World Economy, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

Zhang said the CIIE acts as an effective stabilizer and a large-scale platform that facilitates the smooth flow of various trade components. It also efficiently connects different stakeholders, crossing political and geographical boundaries to link producers, consumers, investors and innovators, among other interconnected entities in the global economy.

"Last but not least, it is a leading force in institutional innovation and is expected to drive positive changes in multilateral trade rules," she added.

Since 2018, the CIIE has promoted international procurement, investment, people-to-people exchanges, and cooperation as the world's only import-themed expo. Each year from November 5 to 10, the expo has gained a global reputation, with its effects permeating markets and spreading beyond the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) in Qingpu District.

The CIIE will be held at a crucial time for global trade, as tariffs and protectionism have shaken the world since January. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in South Korea last weekend, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for free trade and supply chain stability. He spoke a day after meeting with US President Donald Trump, who agreed on measures to reduce trade tensions.

"Hosting CIIE is to expand China's opening-up initiatives, turning the country's huge market into a great opportunity for the world," said Sheng Qiuping, China's vice commerce minister.

"It shows China's efforts to inject more 'certainties' into a world of 'uncertainties' over demand, cooperation environment, and business outlook via presenting market opportunities, further opening up, and sharing mutual benefits," Sheng noted.

This year, 4,108 exhibitors from 155 countries, regions, and international organizations will participate in national and corporate exhibitions on 430,000 square meters, and 449,500 professional visitors have registered, exceeding previous expos.

Innovation will again be the focus here. This year's event will launch over 460 new products, technologies, and services, including low-altitude economy and humanoid robots. Leading companies in next-generation IT, AI, and green tech will showcase their latest innovations.

Furthermore, "collaboration" will be encouraged across borders and development levels. Thailand, the UAE, Nigeria, Georgia, Sweden and Colombia will be the Countries of Honor to promote exchanges.

The expo will also include 163 least-developed countries and 123 Belt and Road countries, up 23 percent from the previous event. The number of companies from Africa jumped 80 percent thanks to a zero-tariff policy.

Having "dialogues" has been a tradition at CIIE. The Hongqiao International Economic Forum, held along with the expo for eight years, will feature eight Nobel laureates and other top scholars discussing trade security, multilateralism and Global South development with over 400 attendees. The World Openness Report 2025 and the latest World Openness Index will be released at the forum.

"The CIIE has become a unique 'value conversion' platform," said Patricia Xia, managing partner of EY China Central. As a UK-based consulting firm, EY has taken part in the expo for eight years in a row in the Exhibition Hall of Trade in Services.

"As a full-attendance participant, we witness that the expo has turned exhibits into commodities and exhibitors into investors. It also advanced the transformation of concepts into rules and demands into standards, continuously creating connection and service opportunities for firms like EY," Xia said.

New Zealand-based dairy nutrition giant Fonterra is another firm taking part in all CIIEs since 2018. Located in the Exhibition Hall of Food and Agricultural Products, Fonterra has upgraded its booth year after year in both size and product arrangements.

"China's ongoing efforts to improve its business environment have brought tremendous opportunities for multinational companies, including Fonterra," said CEO Miles Hurrell. "This is my third return to CIIE, and Fonterra's eighth, and I am increasingly inspired by the expo's role as a catalyst for innovation and trade."

Hurrell added that he came with the entire management team of Fonterra to the CIIE last year, and they have learned firsthand about how "China speed" drives innovation and growth.

"I believe that the CIIE brings great learning opportunities to gain insightful knowledge about the Chinese market," Hurrell said. "The CIIE has been a valuable opportunity for us to engage directly with customers, build, develop, and strengthen partnerships, and showcase our quality products, as well as demonstrate how they can benefit Chinese consumers."

Also a full-attendance participant, German industrial and consumer goods group Henkel has further enlarged its exhibition scale this year at the Exhibition Hall of Intelligent Industry & Information Technology.

"The CIIE serves as an important link for Henkel to continue investment in China," said Anna An, president of Henkel China. "We will accelerate local innovation, strengthen the supply chain, and optimize product arrangements to meet the increasing demand of Chinese clients."

With an investment of up to 500 million yuan (US$70 million), Henkel launched its second-largest global innovation center for adhesive technologies in Shanghai this September, hoping to enhance local capabilities in research and development to benefit its long-term growth in China and the Asia Pacific.

Apart from these spaces, there are also exhibition halls for medical equipment & healthcare products, automobiles and smart mobility, and consumer goods.