The First China International Import Expo (CIIE) opens on November 5, 2018. The giant event is the first ever national exhibition in the world themed on imports. Announced at the Belt and Road Summit for International Cooperation on May 2017 by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the CIIE differs from other trade fairs and expos in three stand-out ways. 

First, it demonstrates the Chinese government's commitment to globalization. The China International Import Expo is a symbol of the Chinese government's firm support to trade liberalization, economic globalization and actively opening the Chinese market to the world. While China has organized the Canton Import and Export Fair (previously known as the Chinese Export Commodities Fair) and later the East China Trade Fair, the CIIE is the first expo in the world which is aimed at boosting imports. Amid growing trade protectionism and trade tension across the world, this event affirms the Chinese government's commitment to opening up to the world and its determination to rely on the multilateral trading system.

Second, it is not just a trade fair. The CIIE consists of a Business Exhibition, Country Pavilion and Hongqiao International Economic and Trade Forum. The Business Exhibition invites companies from oversea to exhibit their advanced products and businesses. There are seven categories of products and services. They include Consumer Electronics & Appliances, Apparel, Accessories & Consumer Goods, Automobiles, High-end Intelligent Equipment, Food & Agricultural Products, Medical Equipment & Health Care Products, and Trade in Services. Country Pavilions are exclusively reserved for country exhibitions, not for business transactions. 

Countries and regions can show their development achievements in trade and investment, including trade in goods and services, industries, investment and tourism, as well as representative products of the country or region with distinct features. 

The First Hongqiao International Economic and Trade Forum consists of an opening ceremony which will raise the curtain on the First China International Import Expo as well as the three parallel sessions and the Hongqiao International Business Media and Think Tank Forum. The three parallel sessions are "Trade and Investment," "Trade and Opening-up" and "Trade and Innovation," discussing significant and frontier topics in global trade and economics.

Third, it creates a "6+365" one-stop trading services platform and online-offline model. Shanghai, the host city of the CIIE, has made the solemn commitment that the CIIE would "never close." The "6+365" One-Stop Trading Services Platform of the CIIE has been launched online to enable the China International Import Expo, with "6+365" professional services, to be "the Expo lasting six days with the platform serving all year round." 

Meanwhile, the platform provides efficient public services to transform exhibits into products, and offers all-direction, multi-mode and channel trading promotion services for companies, products, technologies and services all around the world to enter the Chinese market, serving as the main engine of services for CIIE exhibitors. 

Shanghai has also opened offline platforms in Hongqiao CBD and Shanghai Free Trade Zone – the imports exhibition and transaction centers to host the exhibited products. Citizens can buy products from all over the world in these centers.

After over one year's preparation Shanghai is ready, China is ready for the First China International Import Expo to be open on Monday, November 5, 2018. 

The author is a professor from School of Economics, Shanghai University

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