(Yicai Global) Aug. 28 -- The second China International Import Expo held its 15th roadshow today in Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan province, targeting local purchasers of medical instruments, healthcare, food, agricultural and other products.

Co-hosted by the CIIE and Henan's commerce department, the roadshow attracted around 500 representatives from exhibitors and the media. Dutch electronics giant Philips and Italian winery Tenute Piccini were among attendees.

Henan aims to send 3,600 businesses and organizations as well as around 15,000 people to this year's expo both as participants and buyers in an effort to clinch more deals than last year, said Gao Xiang, the province's deputy director-general of commerce.

The second CIIE, to be held in Shanghai between Nov. 5 and 10, has attracted some 3,000 corporate exhibitors from over 150 countries and regions. At 300,000 square meters, its exhibition area will be more than 10 percent larger than the first one last year.

As the world's first import-oriented, national-level exhibition, the CIIE can help international cooperation with private firms and small- and medium-sized companies in Henan, Gao added.

The expo provides channels for introducing overseas investment and furthering foreign trade with Henan. It also serves as an important platform for the optimization of supplies and improving local living standards, CIIE Bureau Deputy Director Liu Fuxue said.