Shanghai Import Expo: China Pledges to Share Opportunities With the World

BEIJING: A record 4,142 foreign businesses from 162 countries, regions and international organisations took part in the ninth China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai, the largest turnout in the event’s history.

About 200 of these companies have taken part in every CIIE since the first expo. More than 2,000 companies participated for the first time, and over 480 products were launched for the first time.

This shows that the world is recognising not only the size of the Chinese market but also its innovative capacity, stable expectations and the logic of cooperation.

Innovation and technology

The first attraction of the Chinese market is its innovation landscape. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index 2026, China has ranked tenth globally for two consecutive years, and its 25 globally ranked innovation clusters have held first place for four consecutive years.

At this year’s Import Expo, the share of artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, green technology, advanced medicines and high-end equipment rose markedly. Foreign companies are no longer bringing only finished products; they are moving towards local research and development, joint innovation and production capacity tailored to Chinese needs.

From open-source models to embedded intelligence, China is turning its innovative capacity into a public technological foundation that the world can access easily.

Between January and September this year, the actual use of foreign capital in the high-technology sector reached 228.53 billion yuan, 33.8 per cent higher than in the same period last year. This accounted for 41.6 per cent of the actual use of foreign capital nationwide, up 11.9 percentage points on last year.

Long-term planning and cooperation

The second attraction is the stable expectations created by long-term planning. The 15th Five-Year Plan clearly states the intention to continue major expos, including the China International Import Expo, the Canton Fair and the China International Fair for Trade in Services; to further shorten the negative list for foreign investment; to improve the management of cross-border services trade; and to reform the foreign investment system.

China has built a multi-tiered system of exhibitions. The Canton Fair focuses on linking financial trade, the China International Import Expo promotes standardised imports, the China International Fair for Trade in Services concentrates on the services sector, the China International Fair for Investment and Trade advances two-way investment, the China International Supply Chain Expo promotes the smooth flow of industrial chains, and the World Internet Conference fosters open-source cooperation in digital technology and artificial intelligence. The functions of these platforms are interlinked, and they have extended beyond the limited duration of a single exhibition into a continuous chain of cooperation.

Pen Kehl, president of the Cargill Agriculture and Trading Asia Pacific Group, said that China’s clear five-year plan brings stable policy expectations, and that when the policy direction is clear, markets also move forward with confidence.

A deeper foundation for this stability is China’s robust system of governance. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China focused on the thorough and strict implementation of the Party’s self-governance, on addressing the Party’s challenges, and on improving systems of self-correction, supervision and anti-corruption.

Several major media outlets and think tanks from various countries have pointed out that this approach strengthens the political foundation of Chinese-style modernisation and serves as a reference for governance and administration for Global South countries. An article published in the Pakistani journal Diplomatic Insight stated that the Communist Party of China’s consistent identification of problems and its ability to resolve them is an important political strength in China’s modernisation process.

Linking Party building closely with development goals such as common prosperity, scientific and technological progress and public welfare will boost the confidence of international partners. Sharing development opportunities with the international community is not merely an active invitation but also a practical measure.

Exports and development opportunities

According to a report on the development of export capacity to China released by the Hong Qia International Economic Forum, global exports to China have grown steadily between 2020 and 2025. The report notes that China’s imports are no longer limited to industrial products but have become broader and more diverse, including energy, raw materials and agricultural commodities. During this period, imports of both high-quality products and basic goods have increased.

China’s vast market creates demand for modern industrial products and also offers opportunities for natural resource-based products and specific agricultural commodities. This gives various countries the chance to draw on their distinctive strengths and seek new paths to development.

This is a practical example of China’s commitment to implementing the Global Development Initiative and to cooperation based on mutual benefit, and it once again confirms that moving forward with China means advancing together with opportunity.