Major international expo attracts over 910,000 visitors

The second China International Import Expo concluded in Shanghai on Sunday.

Under the theme of “New Era, Shared Future”, the CIIE, as the world’s first import expo of its scale, has gained wide attention and high acclaim from around the world.

French President Emmanuel Macron, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, and World Trade Organization DirectorGeneral Roberto Azevedo gave addresses at the opening ceremony of the six-day event on Nov 5.

The second CIIE attracted more than 3,800 companies from all over the world, with a total exhibition area of 360,000 square meters. By Sunday noon, the exhibition had received more than 910,000 visitors, according to the CIIE Bureau.

The number of registered professional visitors for the second CIIE exceeded 500,000. Of them, more than 7,000 were overseas buyers. Up to 32 percent of professional visitors specialized in manufacturing, while another 25 percent were from the wholesale and retail industries.

The total value of intended deals surpassed $71.13 billion, 23 percent higher than the first expo, according to the CIIE Bureau.

At the three-day supply-and-demand matchmaking meetings during the second CIIE, up to 1,367 exhibitors from 103 countries and regions and 3,258 buyers reached a total of 2,160 purchase intention agreements.

Statistics showed 53 events were held to release new products and technologies during the expo. At least 391 new products, technologies or services made their Chinese mainland or world debuts at this year’s CIIE, much higher than the first CIIE’s figure, according to Sun Chenghai, deputy director of the CIIE Bureau.

A parallel event during the second CIIE, the Hongqiao International Economic Forum, drew a host of world-renowned dignitaries to discuss key issues related to the global economy and future development.

The forum comprised five sessions, with each having a theme related to emerging trends and hot issues, such as opening-up and innovation, artificial intelligence, WTO reform and free trade, digitalization and e-commerce as well as China’s growth over the past 70 years and the shared future of mankind.

Attendees included politicians, academicians and business executives, according to the CIIE Bureau.

During the second CIIE, more than 380 side activities and events were also held.

The World Trade Organization released the Chinese version of the World Trade Report 2019 and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization launched its Industrial Development Report 2020. The World Intellectual Property Organization hosted an international cooperation forum on fighting fake commodities.

Domestic provinces and cities also held a series of business and investment promotional activities during the CIIE.

A new exhibition section featuring China’s intangible cultural heritage and time-honored brands has also showcased the country’s traditional culture and promoted international cultural exchanges, officials said.

With a total exhibition space of 3,894 square meters, more than 170 traditional brands and examples of cultural heritage collected from 17 cities and provinces were displayed. Shows, presentations, workshops and AI simulations curated around the exhibits were given during the second CIIE.

The section is sponsored by the China International Import Expo Bureau.

The second CIIE has also further improved its on-site service to provide participants with better experiences.

More than 3,000 volunteers, up 50 percent from last year’s expo, provided on-site services during the event. In addition to adding multilingual signs in the venue, smart robots also provided guidance for visitors.

The stability and functions of the CIIE app have been further improved, and downloads reached 280,000 this year, up 40 percent from last year’s expo.

PHOTOS BY XINHUA