The 2025 Shanghai International Import Expo: Building a bridge for Global Cooperation and Empowering the development of World Economy and Trade

The 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) will be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) from November 5 to 10, 2025. The CIIE, which has been held annually since 2018, aims to showcase an image of China open to foreign products and investment. Both Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma and American entrepreneur Bill Gates have attended the event in the past.

On November 5, Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech.Premier Li said as President Xi Jinping pointed out, the Chinese economy is like a vast ocean, and so is the world economy. The world’s oceans and oceans are interconnected  The CIIE is the gateway for the world economy to the Chinese economy and an important bridge for China to connect with the world. The number of companies participating in this year’s CIIE has reached a record high, fully demonstrating the vigorous vitality of China’s super-large market. Premier Li Qiang pointed out that the CIIE is getting better and better because it adheres to the principle of “sharing profits with the world”. In contrast, some unilateralism and protectionism in the international community are seriously undermining the international economic and trade order and disrupting the operation of the world economy.

China, with an open, inclusive, cooperative and win-win attitude, actively builds international cooperation platforms such as the China International Import Expo, enabling enterprises from all over the world to find development opportunities in the Chinese market and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.

As the world’s first national-level expo with a focus on imports, the CIIE is highly attractive and attracts businesses from all over the world to participate. With the theme of “New Era, Shared Future”, this year’s CIIE covered an exhibition area of over 430,000 square meters, with 155 countries and international organizations participating and more than 4,000 enterprises exhibiting, including Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders. The number of registered visitors reached over 440,000, with more countries and enterprises participating than in previous years, setting a new record. Among them, more than 170 companies and 27 institutions from around the world, including Medtronic, Emerson and IKEA, have been present at the CIIE for eight consecutive years. The Wisconsin Ginseng Farmers Association (GBW) is participating in the 2025 CIIE for the first time. Jeff Massa, chairman and CEO of Medtronic, an American exhibitor, believes that the CIIE is an important international economic and trade event and an important opportunity for Medtronic, a medical device manufacturer, to engage in in-depth communication with patients, partners and policymakers in the most dynamic region of the global healthcare industry. He also noted that China is not only one of Medtronic’s most important markets, but also an important engine driving global medical technology innovation.

China’s cross-border e-commerce contributes to global economic and trade development. This year’s CIIE has set up cross-border e-commerce service zones for the first time. Top cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Tmall Global, Vipshop and Douyin Global Shopping made their appearances at the CIIE, providing a full range of services from entry, marketing to logistics for exhibitors from around the world on site. This innovative move provides a more convenient display and trading environment for cross-border e-commerce enterprises and promotes the circulation and consumption of global goods. In the first three quarters of this year, the number of tourists entering China visa-free reached 20.89 million, an increase of more than 50 percent year-on-year, and the sales of outbound tax refunds increased by about 100%. On social media platforms, “going to China with an empty suitcase” has become a new trend. China’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 1.37 trillion yuan in the first half of 2025, up 10.3% year-on-year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. China’s total cross-border e-commerce import and export volume is expected to reach 2.85 trillion yuan in 2025, accounting for about 32.5% of global cross-border e-commerce trade. China’s share of cross-border e-commerce in global trade is constantly rising and has become an important force driving global trade growth.

The China International Import Expo helps African countries to actively participate. This year’s CIIE set up the Least Developed Products zone, further expanding and upgrading the existing African products zone to help African countries’ products take advantage of the “zero-tariff” treatment. It attracted 17 African countries to participate, and the number of African companies participating increased by 80 percent compared with the same period last year. African specialty products such as soybeans from Nigeria, pineapples from Benin and coffee from Burundi are on display, hoping to expand the Chinese market and boost their own economic development through the international platform of the CIIE. In the first half of this year, the trade volume of goods between China and Africa reached 1.18 trillion yuan, up 14.4 percent year-on-year, maintaining Africa’s position as the largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years. In addition, China has implemented a zero-tariff policy for all 53 of its African Allies. Since the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit, 31 agricultural and food products from 19 African countries have smoothly entered the Chinese market. So far this year, China’s imports of agricultural and food products from Africa have reached 15.83 billion yuan, with coffee, cocoa beans and frozen strawberries surging by 145.7%, 88.6% and 82% respectively compared with the same period last year.

This year’s CIIE has expanded into new tracks of modern industries, showcasing future industries such as low-altitude economy and humanoid robots. Global leaders in new-generation information technology and artificial intelligence, green and low-carbon, will showcase their latest achievements. Toshiba of Japan, with generative artificial intelligence at its core, will showcase four achievements at this year’s CIIE, including a semiconductor reference design center and AI services for disease risk prediction. In the China Pavilion, cutting-edge technologies such as China’s brain-computer interface platform and the naked-eye 3D display of 6G application scenarios were showcased, along with lunar soil samples brought back by Chang ‘e-5, demonstrating the new heights of China’s technology.

Countless events in history have taught us that openness and cooperation are the main theme of The Times. Since March 2025, the United States has pursued trade protectionism and unilaterally imposed tariffs on the European Union, Canada, China, Mexico and other countries. Through the China International Import Expo, China has not only demonstrated its market potential and development vitality to the world, but also conveyed its firm belief in openness, cooperation and common development to the world. This attitude and action have promoted the prosperity of the world economy and trade and contributed China’s strength to global development.