The booth of Charoen Pokphand Group at the exhibition area of food and agricultural products of the second CIIE. (Photo by Wang Hui from People’s Daily)

The second China International Import Expo (CIIE) opened on Nov. 5 in Shanghai, attracting more than 3,000 companies from over 150 countries and regions around the world.

Ever since the first CIIE was held last November, global enterprises have reaped great fruits thanks to the constantly expanding benefits of the CIIE, with more exhibits becoming commodities, more deals closed, and more companies attaching greater importance to Chinese market.

Over the past year, companies around the world have shared opportunities generated by China’s development and gained more dividends from Chinese market.

As an important decision made by China to pursue a new round of high-level opening-up, the CIIE provides a wider market access for foreign companies, said Deuk-kyu Hwang, president of Samsung China.

Samsung will showcase its newest technological achievements in such fields as virtual reality (VR), 5G, 8K resolution, Internet of Things (IoT) and semiconductors at the second CIIE, according to Hwang.

At the first CIIE, Danish toy manufacturer Lego introduced to Chinese consumers for the first time two sets of toys inspired by the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year, one depicting a Chinese family gathering for a festive Lunar New Year dinner and the other the iconic Chinese dragon dance.

The exterior of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), venue for the second CIIE. (Photo by Wang Hui from People’s Daily)

The toys were officially launched on Jan. 1, 2019, and have been well received by Chinese consumers.

Paul Huang, senior vice president of Lego Group, said that the company has witnessed rapid growth in its business in Chinese market during the past year, with over 70 branded retail stores being newly set up and cooperation in the click-and-mortar model of business getting closer. Huang owes the super high popularity of the toy sets to their splendid debut at the first CIIE.

After launching its earshield that helps protect against hazardous nuisance noise at the first CIIE, U.S. innovative company 3M has received many orders.

The company will release for the first time in the world its major new products including a lightweight automotive acoustic insulation set that absorbs sounds to provide superior acoustic control in vehicles at this year’s CIIE, according to Wei Moline, vice present of New Economy Forum Initiative at 3M.

The CIIE is like a huge magnetic field, an important platform for companies to display their products and communicate with each other, said Moline.

The CIIE is hosted by China with the support of the WTO and other international organizations as well as a large number of participating countries. It is not China’s solo show, but rather a chorus jointly performed by countries from around the world. It witnesses great stories of the cooperation among global enterprises and partners.

The exhibition area of Swedish furniture giant IKEA. (Photo by Wang Hui from People’s Daily)

Danone, a world leading food company, sealed deals worth several million U.S. dollars with its partners at the first CIIE. Its two types of baby formula became particularly popular after they were exhibited at the import expo and hit the market.

At the second CIIE this year, Danone will present 30 brands covering 10 countries and regions, with the number of its exhibits increasing by 50 percent from last year.

According to Bruno Chevot, senior vice president of Danone Early Life Nutrition Greater China, Danone expects to make full use of the CIIE and opportunities created by China’s efforts to further opening-up and bring more innovative products to Chinese consumers at a faster pace.

The exhibition area of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a multinational professional services network, is over 10 times larger than that the year before, said Elton Huang, China Central Markets Leader and China and Hong Kong Entrepreneurial and Private Business Co-Leader of PwC Hong Kong, adding that the expo has established important trade channels for companies from all over the world, which enables companies to provide customized services for clients.

In the past year, China has rolled out a series of major measures to push forward with higher-level opening-up and constantly optimized its business environment for foreign companies to enter the Chinese market.

China is determined to constantly and orderly reduce tariffs, eliminate various non-tariff barriers, expand opening-up and improve business environment, which is of great significance for foreign-funded enterprises’ efforts to adapt to the Chinese market and promote their business in the market, said Rachel Duan, president and CEO of the Global Growth Organization at General Electric.

Charles Kao, president of Amorepacific China, said that the Chinese government has introduced a series of favorable policies to optimize business environment, thus ushering in a golden age of development for foreign enterprises in China.

The company has brought nearly 400 exhibits under 11 brands to the second CIIE, with the number of exhibits doubling that of the previous expo.

China has continuously expanded its opening-up and tried to provide more opportunities for the common development of all countries. It is expected that the second CIIE will continue delivering great results.

As the exhibitors from various countries said, as an important platform to buy from the world and benefit the world as well as a major window of China’s high-level opening-up and cooperation, the CIIE is sure to inject more vitality into the further growth of the world economy.