The photo shows the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), the venue of the second China International Import Expo. Source: Official website of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai)

The second China International Import Expo (CIIE) is just around the corner one year after the expo kicked off in Nov. 2018.

Over the past year, China has implemented multiple measures to open wider, issued a series of policies to expand market access, and taken a slew of moves to improve business environment.

These practical actions have helped China open its door wider, and ushered in a new chapter for China and the world to share opportunities and create common development.

 “It takes only three days for our milk to be put onto Chinese shelves after being produced in New Zealand,” said Sheng Wenhao, chairman of diary company Theland.

“It is a strict test of business environment to sell fresh milk half a world away,” Sheng added.

At the first CIIE, China declared to build a world-class business environment, and it is because of such reform of trade facilitation that the customers now have easier access to high-quality fresh milk from overseas. So far, the weekly supply of Theland in Chinese market has been expanded to 80,000 bottles from 3,000 bottles.

Opening its market and honoring its commitments of opening-up, China has suited the action to the word. On July 22, the first 25 enterprises debuted on the country’s sci-tech innovation board (STAR market), and 8 days later, revised negative lists for foreign investment market access were officially rolled out, cancelling eight restrictions and further lowering access in seven sectors. In August, the new Lingang area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone was officially launched.

These effective measures have further reinforced the global confidence in the Chinese market.

According to statistics released by China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), over 30,000 foreign-invested companies were established in the country in the first three quarters of this year, and foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland grew 6.5 percent year-on-year to 683.21 billion yuan ($96.4 billion) during the same period.

The World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2020 report said that China's ease of doing business ranking climbed to 31 this year, up 15 places from a year ago.

These days, more than 3,000 companies from over 150 countries and regions are busy working at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), where many cutting-edge technologies and debuting products are about to be unveiled.

At 10:00 am, Oct. 22, a patrol vessel was shipped to the equipment exhibition hall by two plate trucks. It is the largest exhibit this year, and will be exhibited for the first time in Asia, said Chen Gang, chief representative of Italian shipbuilding company Ferretti in China, pointing to the giant ship that is 20 meters long, 6.8 meters high, and weighs 37 tons.

It will be Ferretti’s second time to participate in the CIIE. Compared to the yachts it brought to China the last year, this high-speed patrol ship is much more advanced.

What highlights and surprises will be presented at the second CIIE?

The Scale: Around 600 multilingual signs have been added at the exhibition, and 500 temporary signs will be added on the first day of the event. 84 enterprises from Singapore and nearly 100 from New Zealand will be present at the second CIIE.

Thanks to the good reputation earned by the first CIIE, more enterprises are asking to book a booth this year. The exhibition area has been expanded twice to over 360,000 square meters, and the numbers of both the exhibitors and buyers have exceeded those in the last year.

The Quality: the latest anti-cancer drugs and the thinnest and shortest needle for insulin injection will be displayed at the second CIIE, together with a German gantry machining center and a wearable exoskeleton robot.

A garbage grinder and a patrol vessel will also finish their world and Asian debuts at the event, respectively. Besides, a large batch of exhibits including native food from all continents will be showcased. These exhibits all suggest higher quality of the second CIIE.

The Innovation: An outdoor autopilot zone and an area for Winter Olympics snow and ice sports are set up for the second CIIE to offer visitors more fresh experiences. In addition, a special platform has been established for over 10 ministries and departments to interpret policies and conduct government-business dialogues. International organizations such as the World Trade Organization and United Nations Industrial Development Organization will also release their annual reports on the platform.

The Standard: Hongqiao International Economic Forum, a parallel event of the CIIE, will become more international, representative and authoritative. Themed with “Opening-up and Innovation for Win-win Cooperation”, the forum consists of five sub-sessions on “Opening-up, Regulation and Business Environment”, “Artificial Intelligence and Innovative Development”, “WTO Reform and Free Trade Agreements”, “E-commerce in the Digital Era”, and “China's 70-Year Development and the Building of a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind”.

Over 4,000 delegates of the political and business circles from different parts of the world as well as international organizations are expected to join the forum to conduct joint consultation over global issues for common development. They will contribute ideas to the revival of the global economy.

The Effect: A total of 39 domestic trade missions, including 600 sub-trade missions have been formed, and over 100 signing sessions between the supply and demand sides will be arranged. Moreover, big data technology will be applied to match up one-on-one business negotiations for more than 1,000 small and medium exhibitors in a smart way.

It is believed that the second CIIE will create more opportunities, offer more choices, achieve more outcomes, and deliver more sense of gain for all parties.