EDITOR'S NOTE：It has been three years since the first edition of the China International Import Expo. This series of stories highlights the achievements and changes that participating enterprises have experienced because of the annual expo.

The China International Import Expo is undoubtedly a major innovation in the development of international trade which has brought international companies a wide variety of business opportunities, a senior officer from German cleaning systems provider Karcher said recently.

The company had signed strategic cooperation agreements with new partners through the CIIE in the past three years and enhanced its brand awareness, said Tang Xiaodong, president of Karcher Greater China.

"China is one of our most important strategic markets and the CIIE is a shared trading platform that opens up new channels for the exchange and cooperation among global companies," he said.

The exhibition area of the company at the expo was expanded from 198 square meters in 2018 to 550 sq m last year. The area will span over 800 sq m at the fourth CIIE this year.

Customized solutions for different cleaning scenes were displayed, including fully automatic vehicle washing systems and sanitation solutions for streets and alleys which have been used in two districts in Jiangsu province's capital city Nanjing.

The third CIIE held in November last year witnessed the debut of a fully automatic robot with forward-looking technologies, including visual navigation and ultra-precision millimeter-level radar. The machine has been used at the Hongqiao Railway Station in Shanghai since February for the prevention and control of the COVID-19.

The company reached an agreement in December with Nantong-based Suxitong Science and Technology Industrial Park in Jiangsu province to build its world-class R&D and manufacturing base for automatic vehicle washing.

"We are truly looking forward to the fourth CIIE, and will bring more cleaning products to Chinese consumers," Tang said.

It has been about two decades since the company entered the Chinese market. Tang noted the company has experienced "business pattern upgrading, consumption upgrading and the continuous improvement of people's living standards".

"The Chinese government has made outstanding achievements in improving people's livelihood and the overall economy," he added.

Last year, the company's domestic business saw a year-on-year growth of 40 percent, with a sales volume of over 3 billion yuan ($461.1 million). Benefiting from the environment, the company increased its investment in the domestic market by 100 million yuan in January to boost localization.

"Due to COVID-19, the market for cleaning products and services saw an upsurge in China last year. When cleanliness and hygiene matters most, people have higher technical requirements for related products, and have created unprecedented demand for more efficient, eco-friendly cleaning solutions," Tang said.

"We will fully tap Chinese consumers' needs, develop customized products, and expand our Chinese market with top products and services."

Enterprises participating in the CIIE can share their stories by sending them to ciiestories@ciie.org

By Cao Chen in Shanghai

CIIE Stories | Exhibitors benefit a lot from CIIE