Richer content, high-quality exhibits at this year's CIIE

Credit: Xinhua

This year's China International Import Expo, in its 5th edition, will open on Friday with a greater emphasis on opening-up, richer content, and higher-quality exhibits.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a speech via video at the opening ceremony.

Comprised of sections such as national and business exhibitions, the Hongqiao International Economic Forum, and various supporting activities, the expo is now viewed as a window for countries to showcase local characteristics and cultures.

It is also a stage for businesses to demonstrate their cutting-edge products and technologies, and a venue for expanding international cooperation.

This year's expo will highlight a broader range of exhibitors, with a total of 145 countries, regions and international organizations taking part.

In the business area, products and services from 127 countries and regions will be displayed, while 66 countries and three international organizations are featured in the country exhibition, an increase from the previous year.

Credit: Xinhua

Country exhibition

All members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) are represented at the expo, and the number of Belt and Road and Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries participating has increased compared with the last CIIE.

The comprehensive country exposition, an important component of the CIIE, will serve as a vital platform for host diplomacy, to which numerous countries have responded and will actively engage.

The country exhibition will be held online again this year. The online platform, powered by emerging technologies like augmented reality and real-time rendering, will offer visitors an immersive viewing experience, presenting the technology and innovation, culture and art, and investment environment of participating nations.

Eight nations are making their debut at the CIIE country exhibition: Nicaragua, Djibouti, Mauritania, Comoros, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and Iceland.

Credit: Dong Jun / SHINE

Business exhibition

The business exhibition, which attracts a larger turnout, will focus on six categories: food and agricultural products; autos; intelligent industrial and information technology; consumer goods; medical equipment and health care products; and services.

According to data from the CIIE Bureau, approximately 90 percent of the global Fortune 500 enterprises and industry leaders who participated in past CIIE are participating in this year's exhibition as well, bringing the total number of these prominent companies to 284.

Hundreds of new products, technologies and services will be on display, including consumer goods and agricultural items aimed at improving the quality of life, as well as sophisticated medical equipment and technological devices using the most advanced technology in the world.

Over 96 percent of the booths have a unique design, as companies strive to present their signature products, services and innovations in a more compelling manner.

Domestic and international buyers have actively registered for the event. This year, four industry trade groups and over 100 industry sub-groups will enter the venue for on-site communication and purchase for the first time, bringing the total to 39 trading groups and approximately 600 sub-groups.

Credit: Dong Jun / SHINE

Hongqiao International Economic Forum

This year, the Hongqiao International Economic Forum, themed "Stimulation of Opening-up Impetus and Sharing of Cooperation Opportunities," will emphasize openness. A total of 24 sub-forums, as opposed to 14 sub-forums the previous year, will discuss topics on global development.

In addition to the main forum, the high-level sessions "RCEP Spurs Higher-level Opening-Up" will be held, inviting representatives of Chinese and foreign governments, heads of international organizations, and world-famous businessmen and academics to discuss issues related to regional economic integration and opening-up at a higher level, as well as provide insights into post-pandemic economic recovery and growth.

The World Openness Report and the World Openness Index, which were initiated last year, will be presented by China's leading think tanks.

The report examines current hot issues such as the changes in world openness in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic, the status quo and future prospects of global manufacturing and financial openness, new areas of digitalization, green development, and world openness.

Credit: Dong Jun / SHINE

e-CIIE

The e-CIIE 2022 Intelligent Industry and Information Technology platform will be held online for the first time during the fifth CIIE.

The platform is designed to break the past limits of exhibition form and space and will display high-quality content of the offline exhibition online.

It will livestream offline activities and exhibitors' live events, in addition to providing an online platform for consumers to view the forums, conferences and other supporting events.

Digital technology may also improve matchmaking between exhibitors and buyers, as well as push messages to both parties in a timely manner and enhance the effectiveness of negotiations.

Over 300 exhibitors from the intelligent industrial and information technology sector, including Fortune 500 companies, industry leaders, industry suppliers and startups, will participate in the e-CIIE. Digitization, green development and global openness will also be discussed.

Supporting activities

This year's CIIE will also feature nearly 100 professional supporting activities with various forms and contents, such as those centered on policy interpretations, matchmaking and contracting, launches of new products, services, technologies, investment promotion events and cultural exchange activities.

There will be over 50 events on policy interpretation, matchmaking and signing, and investment promotion, as well as over 80 performances and shows for cultural interchange in the central square of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), the venue for the CIIE.

Credit: Xinhua

Services

The city has designated a total of 216 responsibilities for the event, including COVID-19 prevention and control, transportation, catering and lodging, as well as reception and trading services.

Shanghai Customs has set up 110 exclusive customs clearance windows and channels for personnel and exhibits to improve efficiency; 20 temporary parking lots with approximately 1,900 parking spaces near the venue will be available with online reservation service; a price cap has been placed on hotels serving the expo; and inside the expo venue are 46 catering businesses and seven mobile vans with a combined daily capacity of 140,000 meals.