China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Import expo attracts global firms
More than 1,000 companies from 120 countries and regions have signed up for the China International Import Expo in Shanghai in early November since registration began three months ago.
Nearly 100 Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders have signed up, including German industrial giant Bosch, Swiss food manufacturer Nestle, and German automakers BMW and Daimler, the China International Import Expo Bureau said on Thursday.
Japanese robot manufacturer Nachi Fujikoshi will showcase advanced robotic technology and products and computer maker Dell will present its innovative products and services at the expo’s intelligent and high-end equipment zone, according to the bureau.
France will send a government delegation and a group of companies, and the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has set up a special committee for the exhibition.
A briefing on the expo was held in Tokyo on Thursday to attract Japanese companies.
“The expo is a testament to China’s policy of launching a new round of higher-level
opening-up,” said Yang Weiqun, deputy director of the Asia department of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Mitsuaki Hoshino, director of the Northeast Asia division at the Trade Policy Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said he hoped the expo will become a catalyst for China and Japan to strengthen the two countries’ economic and trade ties.
President Xi Jinping announced that the expo would begin this year in his keynote speech at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in May.
The expo is expected to host about 3,000 companies from around the world and 150,000 buyers from home and abroad in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10.
The government has considered imports and exports to be of equal importance over the past few years and accelerated adoption of a more positive import policy, Gao Feng, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said earlier. The country is expected to import commodities and services worth more than $10 trillion in the next five years.