(Yicai) Oct. 16 -- The Ninth China International Import Expo, which will be held in Shanghai next month, is poised to set new records for exhibitor numbers and exhibition space, with record highs also expected in the participation of leading companies and the number of products making their debut.

A total of 4,142 overseas firms from 162 countries and regions as well as international organizations will participate in the expo, which runs from Nov. 5 to Nov. 10, Vice Minister of Commerce Yan Dong said at a press conference today. Total exhibition space will exceed 440,000 square meters for the first time.

Launched in 2018, the CIIE is the world’s first national-level expo dedicated to imports. It comprises three main sections, namely the Country Exhibition, the Enterprise & Business Exhibition, and the Hongqiao International Economic Forum. The event serves as a platform for international procurement, investment promotion, people-to-people exchanges and broader cooperation.

This year’s Business Exhibition will occupy more than 370,000 square meters for the first time, Yan said. The number of Fortune Global 500 companies and industry-leading businesses participating will top 300, a new high, while more than 2,000 companies will be first-time exhibitors. And over 480 featured products will make their global, Asian or Chinese debuts at this year’s expo, also a record, he added.

In the Business Exhibition, companies from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and France will account for the largest exhibition areas. US firms will occupy more than 50,000 square meters, an increase of 1,500 square meters from last year, retaining the top spot for the eighth consecutive edition, Yan said.

The Country Exhibition will feature 69 countries and international organizations. Canada and Sri Lanka will serve as countries of honor. Five countries, including Moldova and Romania, as well as the United Nations Development Programme, will participate for the first time, Yan said.

Shanghai is positioning the “debut economy” as a key driver in its development into an international consumption center, Vice Mayor Lu Shan said at the press conference. Since 2018, the megacity has leveraged the CIIE as a platform to introduce more than 30,000 new products making their first market debut. It has also attracted more than 1,700 brands to open their first stores globally, in Asia or in China in Shanghai, Lu added.

Shanghai will host a series of product launch events during this year’s CIIE, while also extending opportunities for product debuts to the Yangtze River Delta region, where Shanghai is located, Lu said. These initiatives are intended to encourage supply-side innovation and spur consumption.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor