CIIE is almost here: Join us for special coverage

The first China International Import Expo is set to begin in Shanghai on Monday. Join People’s Dailly’s Overseas Social Media reporter on a trip from Beijing to the Chinese commercial hub 1,318 km (819 mi) away on one of China’s fastest high-speed trains, which darted off at 10:00 am and arrived 4.5 hours later.

As the world’s first national-level expo exclusively devoted to imports, CIIE will kick off inShanghai on November 5, 2018. Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech at its opening ceremony and visit the country pavilions with foreign leaders.

CIIE was proposed and announced by President Xi. In May 2017, the President announced at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that China would hold theChina International Import Expo in 2018.

After more than a year of preparation, CIIE has been developed into a mega event. In the Country Pavilion for Trade & Investment section, a total of 82 countries and three international organizations will showcase their important achievements as well as their best products at 71 booths which,in total,cover an area of about 30,000 square meters—more than four times the size of a standard soccer field.

Running parallel with the country pavilions is the lion’s share of the fair—the business exhibitions. More than 3,000 companies from over 130 countries have confirmed participation in the expo, with a total booth area of 270,000 square meters, approximately the size of fourLouvre Museum. And if you combine the business exhibitions with the country pavilion, the area is as large as two Forbidden City. This is why you’ll find numerous restaurants within the National Exhibition and Convention Center, where the expo is taking place, because it’s almost impossible to finish a tour of the extraordinary event without feeling hungry and the need to recharge oneself with various foods and snacks.

Exhibits of the expo fall into seven major categories: 1) trade in services; 2) automobile; 3) consumer electronics and appliances; 4) apparel, accessories, and consumer goods; 5) medical equipment and health care products; 6) food and agricultural products;and7) high-end intelligent equipment. And more than 160,000 eligible purchasers eager to spend will be there, too. In fact, global businessesquick to spot the opportunity responded to the event so enthusiastically that the pre-registration periodfor the second CIIE in 2019 already started four months ago after the venue space for this year had been fully booked, which, according to the organizers, was far beyond their expectations.

Apart from the country and business exhibitions, CIIE will also feature the Hongqiao International Economic and Trade Forum, which will be held on the first day of the expo and attended by over 2,000 government officials, international organization leaders, and renowned entrepreneurs and academics, including Bill Gates and Jack Ma, who will discuss in three parallel sessions how to spur new vitality of global trade and create an open and win-win scenario.

Although the expo itself will last only six days, closing on November 10, the effect of the fair will be felt far beyond that limited amount of time. Shanghai’s government has formed partnerships with dozens of online and offline platforms to ensure that Chinese consumers have easy access to many of the exhibited goods and services afterward.

The message is loud and clear: China will not close its door to the world and it will only become more and more open. CIIE has been widely regarded as a trail-blazing approach for China to demonstrate its determination to expand opening-up and commitment to supporting trade liberalization and economic globalization. At a time when protectionist and anti-globalization sentiment is rearing its ugly head,this is exciting news for the world.