Hong Kong firms to showcase strengths at China import expo
China's Ministry of Commerce says preparations for the 9th China International Import Expo are largely complete. A record nearly 400 Hong Kong firms will attend, featuring a new professional pavilion and a debut overseas services zone, with a dedicated Hong Kong forum on November 5.
The 9th China International Import Expo (CIIE) is scheduled to be held in Shanghai from 5 to 10 November, alongside the Hongqiao International Economic Forum. China's Ministry of Commerce announced on 29 October that preparations for the event are largely complete, with enthusiastic participation from enterprises in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, highlighting their deep integration into the nation's development.
Ministry spokesperson Huang Ling told a regular press conference that nearly 400 Hong Kong firms will participate in this year's expo, a record high, occupying nearly 36,000 square metres of exhibition space. A dedicated Hong Kong professional pavilion will focus on the region's competitive fields of food and consumer goods and professional services. For the first time, an 'overseas services zone' will be established, leveraging the CIIE platform to deepen economic and trade ties between the mainland and Hong Kong, and to share domestic and international market opportunities.
Huang said that on the afternoon of 5 November, the Ministry of Commerce and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government will jointly host a 'Hong Kong Forum' at the Hongqiao International Economic Forum. Under the theme 'Aligning with the 15th Five-Year Plan, Serving National Development, New Opportunities for Hong Kong', the forum aims to support Hong Kong in leveraging its unique role, backed by the motherland and connected to the world, to consolidate its status as an international financial, shipping and trade hub and international aviation centre, and to help turn Hong Kong's first five-year plan from a 'vision map' into a 'reality map'.
Huang noted that this expo is the first major economic and diplomatic event since the 20th Fifth Plenary Session of the Communist Party of China. A total of 162 countries, regions and international organisations will participate. The overall exhibition area will surpass 440,000 square metres for the first time, with more than 480 representative innovative achievements to be showcased. Over 90 overseas exhibition groups will appear, with the exhibition area growing nearly 8 per cent year-on-year.