Who are the new friends of the 5th China International Import Expo?

The fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE) will be held in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10. The "circle of friends" at the CIIE has become more significant, and there are more "new friends." 

A total of 145 countries, regions, and international organizations will participate in the CIIE, which is better structured and more representative. Among them, there are developed and developing countries as well as some least developed countries. Enterprises from 127 countries and regions participated in the exhibition, and 66 countries and three international organizations participated in the National Comprehensive Exhibition, all exceeding the previous exhibition's number. 

It is not difficult to see the growing attraction of the CIIE from the data: 284 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders participated in the exhibition, more than the previous one, and nearly 90 percent of the visitors returned. Many enterprises' exhibition area is expanding daily, from hundreds of square meters to thousands of square meters increasing. This year's booth unique decoration proportion reached 96.1%, higher than the previous level. 

In addition, "new friends" are constantly joining in. 

"I am looking forward to the upcoming Jinbo debut." Tong Anrui, regional director for China Mainland and Hong Kong of the Norwegian Seafood Agency, said. The agency will bring eight Norwegian seafood export companies to the forum, hoping that through this global trade event, the Chinese and Norwegian seafood companies will forge deeper strategic cooperation and share opportunities in the industry. 

This year is also the first year for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to come into force. The number of participating countries along the Belt and Road and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has also increased. 

Eight countries, Nicaragua, Djibouti, Mauritania, Comoros, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, and Iceland, will participate in the international exhibition for the first time.