China gears up to host world's 1st import expo

ISLAMABAD: Shanghai, the host city, has been putting the final touches to its preparations as China stands ready to present the world with a grand gathering of goods and better thoughts on trade.

Shanghai will teem with business during inaugural imports event that will attract about  3,000 companies from over dozens of countries have confirmed participation in the expo, with a total booth area of 270,000 square meters, Vice Commerce Minister Fu Ziying said Monday.

The first China International Import Expo is less than a couple of weeks away. The expo, designed to be a world-class event on par with the world’s leading exhibitions, combines country exhibitions, company exhibitions and forums to promote free trade and an open global economy.

With the slogan "New Era, Shared Future," the CIIE will strengthen business ties, open China's market wider and garner support for free trade.

According to Xinhua, expectations are mounting for the eye-catching new products and latest technologies to be showcased in the lucky clover-shaped venue of the expo as enterprises flock to one of the world''s largest importers to introduce products and services.

The number and value of items on display will shatter the record of previous fairs in China, and 5,000 exhibits will make their debut, Fu said.

Arancha Gonzalez, executive director of the International Trade Center, called the CIIE "a very unique fair" and "an example of how international trade can be win-win.

Besides bustling business exchanges, the expo will feature a forum on global economy and trade with a star-studded line-up to provide thoughts on shared prosperity.

The Hongqiao International Economic and Trade Forum, with the theme "spurring new vitality of global trade, creating an open and win-win scenario," will be attended by over 2,000 government officials, international organization leaders, renowned entrepreneurs and academics from over 130 countries and regions, Fu said.

Speakers and panelists will include Alibaba's Jack Ma, co-founder of Microsoft and chairman of TerraPower Bill Gates, and Jose Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, according to CIIE''s official website.

The forum's three parallel sessions, with a focus on trade and opening up, trade and innovation, and trade and investment, respectively, will discuss such major issues as the new impetus for economic globalization and the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, Fu said.

"We believe CIIE will help countries showcase their national image as well as serve as an open platform for cooperation in international trade," he added.

"The CIIE fully reflects China''s firm support of the multilateral trade mechanism and development of free trade," said he.