The 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE) is scheduled to take place from November 5th to 10th in Shanghai.

At a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on the 23rd, Tang Wenhong, Assistant Minister of Commerce, stated that this year's CIIE will further enhance its role as a window for building a new development pattern, strengthen its platform function in promoting high-level openness, and reinforce its service as a globally shared international public good.

The corporate exhibition of this CIIE continues to maintain an ultra-large scale of over 360,000 square meters, with 3,496 exhibitors from 129 countries and regions participating. Both the number of countries (regions) and the number of enterprises have exceeded the previous edition, with 297 Fortune Global 500 and industry-leading companies showcasing their presence, fully demonstrating the attractiveness of China's super-large-scale market and the confidence of various parties in investing in and deeply cultivating the Chinese market.

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has made a series of deployments to improve the system and mechanism of high-level foreign opening. Tang Wenhong indicated that the CIIE will actively play its role as a platform for promoting high-level openness, continuously convey a strong message of openness, actively create a platform for introducing significant open policies and demonstrating the determination and resolve for openness; continuously release the dividends of openness, and strive to build a platform that allows the world to share the new development opportunities in China; continuously build consensus on openness, and work hard to establish a communication platform that helps improve global economic governance rules and promotes the construction of an open world economy.

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The first six editions of the CIIE have seen nearly 2,500 representative first-time new products, technologies, and services, with a total intended transaction amount exceeding 420 billion US dollars; more than 1,130 foreign-funded enterprises and investment promotion agencies have been organized to carry out precise docking in various places, with many exhibitors opening new stores, factories, and research and development centers in China. Relying on the advantage of China's super-large-scale market, the CIIE continues to promote the "exhibits to goods" and "exhibitors to investors" "CIIE story" to emerge continuously.

Shanghai will continue to play its role as a major platform for opening up to the outside world, continuously amplify the spillover effect of the CIIE, and make a greater contribution to the country's efforts to promote a higher level of foreign opening.

Wu Zhengping, Deputy Director of the China International Import Expo Bureau, introduced that this year's CIIE will focus on the four major tracks of the digital economy, green and low-carbon, life sciences, and manufacturing technology for the first time, with both exhibition area and the number of projects being the largest in history. The technology and equipment exhibition area focuses on three major themes of science and technology, industry, and environmental protection. The science and technology theme area will establish a new materials special zone for the first time, further improve the industrial chain of the integrated circuit special zone, and upgrade the artificial intelligence experience area; the industrial theme area will highlight the upstream system and basic equipment of the industrial field, the middle stream of industrial control system automation integration and solutions, and the downstream terminal application in three display areas; the environmental protection theme area will cover new energy, water treatment, environmental protection technology, etc., and the four major global water treatment companies will gather at the 7th CIIE.

In addition, this year's CIIE will feature a batch of exhibits that represent the development direction of new quality productive forces, covering many frontier fields of science and technology such as high-end equipment, new materials, marine engineering equipment, biotechnology, and advanced agricultural technology. The exhibits in the China Pavilion are also based on the development of new quality productive forces, focusing on multiple frontier scientific and technological fields such as future networks, artificial intelligence, and new energy.

With the help of the CIIE, last year's jute handicrafts from Bangladesh and honey from Zambia, and a series of products from the least developed countries, achieved unprecedented performance in the Chinese market. This year's CIIE will provide support for 37 least developed countries to participate in the national exhibition and corporate exhibition, and expand the African product special zone to help expand unilateral openness to the least developed countries, and practice the concept of inclusiveness with practical actions.

Tang Wenhong stated that under the current international environment, development is also a particularly important issue faced by the world, especially for the least developed countries. The United Nations has launched the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In the implementation of this agenda, China is an excellent student and a model student, and China is also actively helping the vast number of developing countries, especially the least developed countries. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made a major deployment, which is to expand unilateral openness to the least developed countries. The Ministry of Commerce takes this as an important task, actively implements it, and promotes it with all its strength.Starting from December 1, 2024, a preferential tariff rate of zero will be applied to 100% of the tariff lines of products originating from the least developed countries (LDCs) that have diplomatic relations with China. China is the first major developing country and a major world economy to implement this measure. The Ministry of Commerce will work with relevant departments to support these LDCs in making full use of this preferential arrangement.

Tang Wenhong stated that cooperation with relevant LDCs in the field of inspection and quarantine will be strengthened, and the role of the green channel for African products entering China will be actively played. Support will be provided for more qualified agricultural products from LDCs to enter the Chinese market. Efforts will be made to negotiate a framework agreement on common development with African countries, and to establish more flexible and pragmatic trade and investment liberalization and facilitation arrangements with relevant LDCs, providing long-term, stable and predictable institutional guarantees for bilateral economic and trade cooperation.