Import expo sees record high tentative trade deals

The sixth China International Import Expo in Shanghai saw $78.41 billion in tentative deals for purchases of goods and services, setting a record high.

Sun Chenghai, deputy director-general of the CIIE Bureau, released the above statistics at a news conference on Friday, as the six-day exhibition wrapped up. This year's value of deals, which is the highest of all six editions of the CIIE so far, rose 6.7 percent from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, up to 442 new products, technologies and services made their debuts at this year's CIIE, Sun said. This outdid the record of 438 set last year.

This year's expo has set a record of 367,000 square meters of exhibition area. A total of 3,486 companies from 128 countries and regions participated in the CIIE. Up to 289 global Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders were present at the exhibition, also a record high.

A total of 11 countries were present at the CIIE for the first time this year, including Honduras, Zimbabwe and Bahrain.

The high quality of this year's CIIE makes for a positive contribution to global economic recovery and global prosperity, said Sun.

Zhang Xiong, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai municipal government, said at the news conference that representatives from 39 countries and regions showcased more than 300 innovative projects related to low-carbon green development, healthcare, digital economy and innovative technologies this year, overtaking the scale of similar demonstrations during previous editions of the CIIE.

While serving as an important platform to illustrate China's resolve to further open up its economy, this year's CIIE also played a larger role in nurturing innovation, Zhang said.

This is the sixth year in a row for multinational conglomerate Honeywell to participate in the annual CIIE. Yu Feng, the company's China president, said that the CIIE has helped to launch more of its products in China, expand its investment in the country and explore more cooperation.

China's rising economic growth momentum has boosted confidence among many foreign companies. Meanwhile, its massive market size, complete industrial system and welcoming environment for nurturing technological innovation are of great appeal to foreign firms, Yu said.

The presence of Canada Goose at this year's CIIE marked the extreme weather outerwear brand's participation at the expo for the second consecutive year. According to the company's chairman and CEO Dani Reiss, the CIIE is an ideal platform to build Canada Goose's long-term business in China. Its participation in the CIIE demonstrated its commitment to the Chinese market.

About 200 companies have signed up for the seventh CIIE to be held in November next year, with the total booked exhibition area exceeding 100,000 sq m, said Sun from the CIIE bureau.

French beauty conglomerate L'Oreal Group is one of them. According to the company's China CEO Fabrice Megarbane, it continues to expand its collaboration with government, industry associations and business partners via the CIIE, turning its positioning as an exhibitor into an investor. As a six-time participant, L'Oreal brought to the expo for the first time this year nearly 30 startups from China, France and Japan as part of its efforts to explore more innovation in the Chinese market.