Editor's Note: The fifth China International Import Expo will open in less than 20 days. In October, several participants of the CIIE will tell their stories themed around "great opportunity" to showcase the positive changes the expo has made to the world and how it has helped build a community with a shared future for mankind over the past five years.

Amorepacific's booth at the CIIE. [Photo/CIIE Bureau]

It's 8 pm and the Amore (Shanghai) Beauty Park is still busy. I can vaguely hear the back-up alarm of trucks in the logistics park from my office. A series of promotional activities had just concluded and staff members are delivering goods to our distribution channels.

I work at the research and development department of Amorepacific and am currently preparing products for the upcoming fifth CIIE with my colleagues.

I first learned about the CIIE in the summer of 2018. My leader assigned me to the preparations for the inaugural edition of the expo and he said that enterprises can get more exposure and better understand industry trends and consumers' needs through the national-level event.

At that time, I had just started my career and couldn't fully understand what these words meant until I saw our company's achievements at the expo.

I was then responsible for sorting out the technical data of our products and operating instructions for devices as well as providing technical support. During the process, I acquired great knowledge of cutting-edge cosmetic technologies such as 3D-printed face masks.

Amorepacific's customized cosmetics were popular at the inaugural CIIE. A large number of visitors waited in line at our booth to try the products and mainstream media, including China Media Group, published several stories about them. Customization has since become a focus in the cosmetics industry and a slew of new products have been developed to satisfy consumers.

Based on experiences in the first edition, we believed beauty devices will be the next hotspot and stepped up R&D on them. During the second CIIE, we displayed the light therapy beauty device MakeOn and the skin analysis system Smart Mirror. After talking with visitors at the expo, we further learned about Chinese consumers' demands for such devices and were more determined to develop intelligent beauty devices.

The third CIIE remained a success despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mamonde Red Energy Recovery Serum showcased at this edition was designed by Amorepacific's Shanghai R&D team, which made me very proud.

A forum introducing Amorepacific's products and technologies during the fourth CIIE. [Photo/CIIE Bureau]

At the fourth expo last year, I had for the first time organized and hosted a series of forums to introduce our bestselling products and technologies to visitors and media. This improved my coordination and communication skills.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the CIIE and my eighth year at Amorepacific. Due to the opportunities created by the annual expo, I have grown from a novice to a core member of the team.

By Yu Haoyang

The author is the product safety manager at the research and development department of Amorepacific China.