More foreign companies signing up for CIIE

More than 50 foreign enterprises signed agreements on Friday to exhibit at the third China International Import Expo in November.

Among them, Tapestry Inc from the United States, the parent company of Coach New York, Kate Spade New York and Stuart Weitzman, signed up to take part in the next three CIIE events. 

To date, the third CIIE has attracted more than 1,400 companies, covering over 80 percent of the overall planned exhibition area.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has pounded the global economy and trade. Under the circumstances, we will go all out to hold the third CIIE, establishing a platform for various fields to build practical economic and trade cooperation,” said Wang Bingnan, China's vice minister of commerce and director of the China International Import Expo Bureau. 

“This reflects China's firm position on promoting economic globalization and building a community with a shared future for mankind, and is of great significance to accelerating global economic growth and building an open world economy,” Wang said.

The companies signing agreements on Friday will occupy a total exhibition area of nearly 30,000 square meters. Among them, 54 percent are Global Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders, including Louis Dreyfus Co, a global merchant founded in France, and Ferrero SpA, an Italian manufacturer of chocolate and confectionery.

Japan’s Fast Retailing Co, the parent company of Uniqlo, will be at the CIIE for the first time, and will have booths covering 1,500 square meters.

Abbott Laboratories, an American multinational medical devices and health-care company, will also participate in the expo for the first time. It will showcase its cutting-edge technologies, innovative products, and health care solutions at its 600-square-meter booth.

The company confirmed its participation in the CIIE’s newly introduced Public Health and Epidemic Prevention Section. This special exhibition space will showcase an array of its advanced technologies in the diagnostic field of COVID-19 tests, medical nutrition and diabetes care, which have been widely used to combat the pandemic.

“Abbott is proud to have been a partner in bringing innovative health-care products to China for over 30 years. The participation in CIIE is an important testament of Abbott’s commitment to the development of Chinese health-care industry and facilitation of the country’s Healthy China agenda,” said Tony Chan, vice president of Abbott’s Diagnostics business in China.

At the signing ceremony, Louis Dreyfus signed a US$20 million order with purchaser Shanghai Liangyou (Group) Co. 

At the second CIIE in 2019, Louis Dreyfus’s booth tripled in size compared with the first, and the company will further invest in the Chinese market, according to Jerrity Chen, head of G&O at Louis Dreyfus Co North Asia.

Orders were also signed by US radiation oncology treatments and software maker Varian Medical Systems with Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, and by Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment company Brother Industries with Shanghai Zhongfang Meiyuan.