Interest building up for 2nd import expo

TRADE services providers vowed to better serve exhibitors at the second China International Import Expo in Shanghai in November.

A comprehensive trade service alliance, led by Oriental International Holding Co, Donghao Lansheng Group and several professional trade services firms, will use their skills to ensure the recruitment of exhibitors and logistics firms, as well as smooth 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.

Two hundred days before the start of the second CIIE, traders and logistics, financial, insurance and 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, a 600,000-square-meter exhibition and trade center for imports, along with bonded warehouses, will be completed in southern Hongqiao, about 3 kilometers from the main venue of the CIIE.

According to

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senior manager of Oriental International, a major participant of the mammoth project, the first phase will become operational in September or October.

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 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 mediumsized 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-round safeguards.

More than 1,800 companies have signed up for this year’s CIIE, 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.