The China International Import Expo's appeal as a platform for foreign companies to tap into development opportunities in the Chinese market has been rising since its inception in 2018.

According to the latest data from the CIIE Bureau, 284 of the world's top 500 enterprises and industry giants participates in the fifth CIIE, which is taking place in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10, with nearly 90 percent of the participants from last year returning.

Fortune Global 500 companies, including Jones Lang LaSalle, Thyssen Krupp, Gilead, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, will make their debut at this year's expo.

Bessie Lee, CEO of JLL Greater China, said in a recent interview that the global real estate consultancy has chosen the fifth CIIE as an event to announce the inauguration of JLL Technologies in China and the establishment of JLL Spark's RMB venture capital fund - it is the first of its kind set up by the company in the world - to incubate a new generation of real estate technology start-ups. She noted that specific plans, including the fund's scale, will be announced at the event.

Rio Tinto will make its appearance at the expo's subsection for low-carbon energy and environmental protection technology.

As the first international mining company to supply iron ore to China, Rio Tino's first shipment arrived at the Shanghai No 1 Iron and Steel Plant in 1973. China is now the company's biggest market, according to Yuan Ling, vice president of Rio Tinto China.

"In total, we have supplied China with more than 3.3 billion metric tons of high-quality iron ore and other metallic minerals and important raw materials," Yuan said.

Mining company BHP Billiton will also make its debut at the fifth CIIE, which means the world's top three mining companies will gather at the expo for the first time.

Niche market leaders and emerging players from across the world are similarly looking to ride the wave of China's continuous opening-up by releasing a slew of new products to this year's expo.

"We have decided to introduce our personal care brand into the Chinese market, and the CIIE is the best platform to do so," said Zhu Yunyun, head of the Shanghai office of Ubesol Group, which will participate in the expo for the first time.

The Spanish company is hoping to find a Chinese partner at the fifth CIIE to open up a channel for imports and domestic distribution in the nation, according to Zhu.

Sources: Xinhua News Agency, thepaper.cn, www.comnews.cn