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.

Zhejiang sets up a pavilion to showcase itself during the CIIE. [Photo/CIIE Bureau]

East China's Zhejiang province enjoyed fruitful outings at the past four editions of the CIIE.

Over 157,000 people from more than 63,000 companies in Zhejiang attended the expo from 2018 to 2021, and over 400 investment promotion activities were held by the province during the expo. Due to these efforts, Zhejiang signed agreements for about 4,000 projects, with a cumulative intended transaction value of over $38 billion.

Zhejiang holds a signing ceremony during the CIIE. [Photo/CIIE Bureau]

Zhejiang's imports have also achieved high-quality growth since its participation in the CIIE. Its imports increased to 1.13 trillion yuan ($156.48 billion) in 2021 from 616.56 billion yuan in 2017, a growth of 83.45 percent and more than two times the national growth rate in the same period.

From January to August in 2022, Zhejiang's imports expanded 11.7 percent year-on-year, 6.5 percentage points higher than the nation and topping the list of coastal regions in East China. Its contribution to the country's import growth was ranked second.

By leveraging the CIIE, Zhejiang has also built 10 provincial-level import demonstration zones and 80 major import platforms in recent years.

Our cooperation with AstraZeneca, a Fortune Global 500 pharmaceutical company, is another byproduct of the CIIE. We proposed to the company that it should establish its East China headquarters in Zhejiang at the inaugural expo and a memorandum of cooperation on this was signed during the second edition.

In 2020, AstraZeneca's branch in Hangzhou was set up, and the Hangzhou iCampus, a life sciences innovation park built by the company and Hangzhou government, was unveiled. Before the fourth CIIE in 2021, AstraZeneca's East China headquarters started operations in Gongshu district of Hangzhou. The headquarters is expected to support the development of Zhejiang's healthcare industry and generate over 1 billion yuan in tax revenue in the following five years.

During the upcoming fifth CIIE, Zhejiang will hold two events. One is the 8th China Zhejiang International Digital Economy and High-tech Industry Matchmaking Conference. Executives from 80 foreign companies and 200 Chinese companies involved in digital economy and high-tech industries will be invited to discuss cooperation.

The other activity is a parallel session of the Hongqiao International Economic Forum themed on the opening-up and governance of the digital economy. Government officials, industry experts, and scholars will talk about how digital technologies can empower economic growth and enrich people's lives.

The CIIE has further opened China's market for global goods and services. It has also allowed the world to better understand China and reap the benefits created by China's development.

By Zhao Sai

The author is the deputy director of foreign trade division at the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province.