Firms pledge better service to CIIE exhibitors

Trade services providers vowed to better serve exhibitors at the second China International Import Expo (CIIE), to be held in Shanghai this November.

A comprehensive trade service alliance, led by Oriental International Holding Co, Donghao Lansheng Group and a number of professional trade service firms, will leverage their expertise to ensure the recruitment of exhibitors and relevant logistics firms, as well as the smooth application of customs clearance procedures.

Nearly 60 members of the alliance have vowed to offer one-stop information services to help traders better prepare for the expo.

With some 200 days left before the start of the second CIIE, traders, logistics firms, financial and insurance firms as well as law firms and consultancies said they will remain dedicated to servicing the CIIE and relevant events and will also contribute to Shanghai's development as a global economic, finance, trade, shipping and innovation center.

Construction of what will be Asia's largest import marketplace is well under way near the CIIE venue. In about three years from now, a 600,000-square-meter exhibition and trade center for imports with bonded warehouses will be completed in southern Hongqiao, about three kilometers away from the main venue of the CIIE.

According to a senior manager of Oriental International, a major participant of the mammoth project, the first phase will be put into use in September or October, ahead of the opening of the scond CIIE.

Last year, Oriental International became one of Shanghai's officially designated permanent platforms to demonstrate and trade commodities originally exhibited at the CIIE. This year, the southern Hongqiao marketplace with bonded warehouses will greatly expand Shanghai's capacity as a leading hub for the demonstration and trade of imports.

"It will be of special help to the world's small- and medium-sized companies which hope to debut their latest brands in China," said Cai Jun, a top manager responsible for Oriental International's CIIE promotion as well as for the operation of the southern Hongqiao project.

Professional service providers such as China Pacific Property Insurance Co said they will also ensure better service for trading groups and offer all-around safeguards during their procurement at the CIIE.

More than 1,800 companies have signed up for the second CIIE, scheduled for early November this year, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Over 900 companies from 77 countries and regions have confirmed participation as exhibitors, including 180 Fortune Global 500 firms and leading enterprises in various industries, according to Gao Feng, a spokesperson for the ministry.