150,000 Buyers Expected At First China International Import Expo In Shanghai

SHANGHAI, Jan. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The inaugural China International Import Expo (CIIE) will take place at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai from November 5-10, 2018.

Initial inquiries and bookings for CIIE indicate that attendance numbers will be unprecedented for the first-of-its-kind international trade forum. Interest is being driven by the growth of imports into China in 2017 that totaled almost RMB 12.5tn (USD 1.95tn), an 18.7% increase from 2016. This figure is expected to rise to USD 8tn over the next five years as China, the world's second largest economy and second largest importer, continues its progression into new stages of development.

Six of the industries earmarked as having the biggest growth potential in the area of cross-border trade, which will be heavily featured at CIIE, are food and agricultural products; garments and consumer products; consumer electronics and household appliances; automobiles; medical instruments, medicine, and healthcare; and intelligent hi-tech equipment, all of which enjoyed impressive increases in imports between January and November of 2017:

Industry

Value of imports from Jan. to Nov. 2017 (Y-o-y growth)

Projected value of imports in five years

Key growth drivers

Food and agricultural products

USD 104.4bn (> 14%)

USD 700bn

Soy, infant formula, wine, fruit & vegetable juices

Garments and consumer products

USD 12.85bn (> 13.2%)

USD 65bn

Cutlery, kitchenware, toys, diapers

Consumer electronics and household appliances

USD 20.44bn (> 11.2%)

USD 100bn

Water heaters, air & water purifiers, earphones

Automobiles

USD 45.8bn (> 15.4%)

USD 260bn

SUVs and new energy vehicles

Medical instruments, medicine and healthcare

USD 35.88bn (> 17%)

USD 250bn

High-end equipment, key patented medicine

Professional Chinese visitor delegations from areas such as education, scientific research, culture and tourism will be in attendance, alongside multiple Chambers of Commerce, government groups, industry leaders, and professionals from major local enterprises across the many provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of China. In addition to the above, the expo will include representatives from Chinese ecommerce and internet technology giants like Alibaba, JD.com, Suning, and kaola.com.

"With so many companies, organizations and visitors expected to be in attendance, we would like to invite all our exhibitors to name the Chinese buyers and companies they wish to attract," said Sun Chenghai, Deputy Director General of CIIE Bureau. "We can then match those requests with the exhibits of CIIE exhibitors to provide a more accurate, effective and tailored experience to all of our guests."

Interested exhibitors can visit http://www.ciie.org/zbh/en/ to check their qualifications to participate and apply before June 30th.

About the China International Import Expo

The first China International Import Expo is being hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, and supported by the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.