The seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE) will kick off another series of global roadshows from January 15 to 24 in Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, and invite more local businesses to participate in CIIE 2024 and embrace the vast Chinese market.

The sixth China International Import Expo was successfully held in Shanghai from Nov 5-10, 2023.

At a CIIE promotional seminar held in Geneva, Switzerland on December 6, the CIIE Bureau signed an MOU with the Swiss Center regarding the participation of more Swiss businesses, especially SMEs, at the seventh edition of the expo.

"The CIIE demonstrates China's support for the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," said Sun Chenghai, deputy director of the CIIE Bureau. "It aims to help global companies, especially those from least developed and developing countries, unlock trade potential and seize market opportunities."

The sixth CIIE saw fruitful results. As the world's first national-level import-themed expo, the annual CIIE has been hailed by many as a great platform to showcase innovation, engage with stakeholders, and exchange ideas.

The sixth CIIE, which concluded on November 10, 2023 in Shanghai, welcomed participants from 154 countries, regions and international organizations, and yielded record-breaking deals. The value of intended deals inked during the six-day expo was $78.41 billion, 6.7 percent higher than the previous year.

More than 3,400 enterprises, including 289 of the world's top 500 enterprises and industry giants, showed off 442 new technologies, products, and services at the Business Exhibition.

Take Vietnam for example. Statistics show that Vietnamese companies have attracted tens of thousands of representatives from both Chinese and foreign companies and witnessed a turnover of exhibits exceeding $50 million at each edition of the expo. At CIIE 2023, many professional visitors were impressed by Vietnam's extensive exhibit of local goods, which included coffee, durians, rice, dried fruits, and handicrafts.

The Country Exhibition allowed 72 countries and international organizations to showcase their scientific and technological achievements, culture and art.

The sixth Hongqiao International Economic Forum set sights on tackling worldwide challenges. As a crucial part of the expo, the sixth Hongqiao International Economic Forum, also known as Hongqiao Forum, had a record attendance of more than 8,000 participants.

High-profile government officials, Nobel Prize laureates, academicians, and a host of senior executives of industrial pacesetters from home and abroad were invited to discuss global openness.

The World Openness Report 2023 was released during the event, during which the latest World Openness Index was also revealed.

The fact that international organizations such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and International Trade Center (ITC) co-hosted a record number of sub-forums was another highlight of the sixth Hongqiao Forum.

"The Hongqiao Forum is showing increasingly extensive influence worldwide. We regard the forum as a premier platform to enhance global communication and promote sustainable development," said Wang Dawei, economics affairs officer at UNCTAD.

So far, more than 200 companies, including industry players and SMEs, have already booked over 100,000 square meters of exhibition area for the seventh CIIE, which is scheduled to take place from November 5 to 10, 2024.