(Yicai Global) July 10 -- The third China International Import Expo held its first supply and demand meeting in Shanghai today attended by more than 50 exhibitors and 100 buyers, including Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba, Japanese cosmetics giant Shiseido and Germany’s biggest home appliance manufacturer Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate.
Supply and demand meetings help exhibitors and buyers to exchange ideas, discover new business opportunities and expand their customer networks, said Sun Chenghai, vice director of the CIIE bureau.
Exhibitors such as Shiseido, Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate, German vacuum cleaner maker Vorwerk, South Korean kitchen appliance maker NUC, German cleaning equipment producer Karcher and other leading firms were all in attendance. Many penned memorandums promising to participate in the next three CIIEs and demonstrating their confidence in China.
Buyers including Alibaba, Chinese e-commerce giant Pingduoduo, Chinese retailer Suning.com, German retailer Metro and French hypermarket chain Carrefour all turned up.
The fourth roadshow to attract exhibitors also took place today following three others that were held in Chengdu in southwestern Sichuan province, Changsha in southern Hunan province and Shangrao in northeastern Jiangxi province earlier this year.
The expo has shifted its focus from inviting exhibitors to attracting investment and preparing the venue, said Sun.
130-year-old Vorwerk was one of the first companies to sign up for the third expo, said Volanda Zhu, public affairs director for China. The Wuppertal-based company, which attended the last two expos, plans to release several new products developed for the Chinese market this year. Its exhibition area in 2020 will be 25 percent larger than in previous years.
The Shanghai Trading Group is in the process of inviting exhibitors, said Shen Weihua, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.
The third CIIE will take place at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to Nov. 10. The 360,000 square meter exhibition area will showcase a wide range of products in the food and agricultural product, automobile, service, intelligent industry & information technology, consumer goods, medical equipment & healthcare product sectors.
Editor: Kim Taylor
