85% of planned CIIE exhibition area already booked

Preparations for the upcoming 5th China International Import Expo are proceeding well, with 85 percent of the planned exhibition area already booked.

To date, more than 270 Fortune Global 500 enterprises and industry leaders have signed up for the November 5-10 expo.

It is noteworthy that of all the Fortune Global 500 enterprises and industry leaders who participated in previous editions of the expo, nearly 90 percent will be in attendance this year, too.

Apart from these "old friends," the expo will see more Fortune Global 500 companies, such as Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, ThyssenKrupp and Gilead, take part for the first time, according to Sun Chenghai, deputy director of the China International Import Expo Bureau.

Organizing agencies of several countries, such as Norway and Belgium, will also join hands with the expo organizer for the first time, arranging for their local small- and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the exhibition.

The enterprise exhibition will once again feature six major exhibition zones: food and agricultural products, automobiles, technical equipment, consumer goods, medical equipment and health care, and trade in services.

This year's fair will also include new features like the establishment of new special zones for sub-sectors such as the crop seed industry and artificial intelligence.

The innovation incubation areas will also be expanded, not only set for the automotive, technical equipment, and medical sectors, but to cover more areas, including sports and fashion design.

More activities for exhibitors will be held before and during the expo to offer a platform to promote connection and cooperation of those with complementary resources. More than 50 activities of various forms, including promotion meetings, briefings and signing ceremonies, have already been held this year – online or offline – for different countries and regions and various industries.

As for policies and measures, many supporting policies, including those on tax concessions, customs clearance facilitation and market access, are being promoted to long-term policies instead of being only valid around or during the expo.

Special support is also being offered for the construction of booths, with more free booths provided for companies from least developed countries, and tilting relevant resources towards SMEs. The aim is to ease the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and international economic uncertainties on exhibitors, especially SMEs.

Sun also revealed the efforts being taken to attract and invite more business exhibitors. Trade missions for industries have been launched to better connect buyers and sellers, while intended demand for over 600 products and several lists of exhibits have been released to better inform exhibitors and purchasers.

The Hongqiao International Economic Forum, an important part of the CIIE, will be themed on global openness this year, and will consist of a main forum and several sub-forums, during which the World Openness Report 2022 and the World Openness Index will also be released.

In sub-forums, topics will cover digital economy and trade, regional economic integration and sustainable development of the industrial chain, food safety, health care, aging population, low-carbon green development and the construction of the Hongqiao hub in Shanghai.