Professional trade fair, celebrating the fifth anniversary, stands as proof of a more open China.

The ongoing China International Import Expo at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), celebrating the 5th anniversary, showcases the country's commitment to further opening up its massive market for shared growth.

The fifth CIIE, like previous editions, comprises a business exhibition, the Hongqiao International Economic Forum, a country exhibition, as well as a slew of supporting activities and people-to-people and cultural exchanges programs.

The business exhibition of the 2022 CIIE continues to feature six exhibition areas — food and agricultural products; intelligent industry and information technology; medical equipment and healthcare products; consumer goods; trade in services; and automobiles. According to the expo's organizers, the fifth CIIE houses representatives from more than 100 countries, regions and international organizations. Exhibitors from 127 countries and regions are attending the business exhibition. The fifth CIIE has 39 trade missions and nearly 600 sub-trade missions.

This year, a total of 284 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry pacesetters are showcasing their most advanced products and services in the annual import-themed fair with nearly 90 percent being repeat participants. More businesses from the countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation are taking part in the CIIE this year compared with 2021. The CIIE attracts enterprises from all RCEP member countries to participate in.

Over the last five years, the CIIE organizers have been establishing subsections, covering fields such as biomedicine, within the six exhibition areas to enhance service standards and better connect buyers and sellers. There are two newly established subsections at the 2022 edition. They are the Crop Seeds Subsection and Artificial Intelligence Subsection. The layout of the Low-Carbon Energy and Environmental Technology Subsection is optimized and the Innovation Incubation Subsection is expanded. The CIIE Culture Exhibition Hall opens for visitors to learn more about the five years of development of the CIIE.

The Country Exhibition at the 2022 CIIE is held online again. Sixty-six countries and three international organizations are participating in the online exhibition. The online exhibition showcases countries in dozens of themes such as trade, investment, culture, art, tourism and cuisine using state-of-the-art technology including the metaverse and digital humans.

An exhibition showcasing China's 10 years of achievements in opening-up is held at the fifth CIIE. Provinces, provincial-level cities, autonomous regions, municipalities and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps are showcasing their most important achievements at the exhibition.

The CIIE Culture Exhibition Hall, marking the fifth anniversary of the trade fair, opens at the fifth edition.

E-CIIE 2022 Intelligent Industry & Information Technology, a digital platform for showcasing new products and technologies in the Intelligent Industry and Information Technology Exhibition Area, is established for the fifth CIIE.

The ongoing Hongqiao International Economic Forum, themed "Stimulation of Opening-up Impetus and Sharing of Cooperation Opportunities", attaches greater importance to openness this year. A total of 24 parallel forums are held in three sections: "Opening-up: Responsibilities and Actions", "Opening-up: Governance Mechanisms" and "Opening-up: Sharing Achievements". The World Openness Report 2022 and the World Openness Index are released. This year, some forums are organized by international organizations such as United Nations Industrial Development Organization, United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Global Compact and International Trade Centre, which help to enhance the influence of the Hongqiao Forum.

Nearly 100 supporting activities are being held to introduce investment opportunities and the latest policies to exhibitors and investors.

The CIIE has become a major platform for international trade, investment, cultural exchange and cooperation, making important contributions to world economic recovery. [Photo/VCG]