Shanghai open to global businesses

Shanghai, which is set to host the fifth edition of the China International Import Expo in November, will continue to embrace global business for its future development, said the city's deputy Party chief on Monday.

Gong Zheng, who is also mayor of Shanghai, said 85 percent of the exhibition space has been booked, and those confirmed as attending include some 270 Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders.

"The holding of the annual expo since 2018 demonstrates China's determination to open its domestic market to the world, and its confidence in an open global economy," he said.

As a national-level import-themed trade fair, the expo has accelerated the upgrading of Shanghai as a global trade center, with businesses and logistics integrated with cities in the Yangtze River Delta, China's economic powerhouse, as well as other major trade hubs in the Asia Pacific region, said Gong.

During previous editions of the CIIE, some 3,000 brands have debuted products, an indication that Shanghai is now one of the choice destinations for businesses to launch new products and services, he added.

Jens Hildebrandt, executive director of the German Chamber of Commerce in China, said it has participated in the expo from the very beginning.