The 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world's largest import-themed expo, will be held in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10 as scheduled, organizers announced during a briefing to mark the 100-day countdown to the event on July 26.

The 4th CIIE will consist of a business exhibition, a country exhibition, the Hongqiao International Economic Forum, and a host of other activities. All preparations are well underway, said Sun Chenghai, deputy director-general of the CIIE Bureau.

This year's expo, similar to the third edition, will feature six business exhibition areas - food and agricultural products, automobiles, intelligent industry and information technology, consumer goods, medical equipment and healthcare products, as well as trade in services.

To date, the planned 360,000 square meters of exhibition areas have been booked, and the focus has now shifted to recruiting purchasers and organizing the exhibition.

Sun said that this year's CIIE will see more participation from Global 500 companies and industrial leaders compared to last year. Over 80 percent of Global 500 companies and industrial leaders that attended the third expo will again take part in this year's edition. More than 30 new Global 500 companies and industrial leaders will make their debuts.

Agencies from Japan, Denmark, Poland and New Zealand have booked larger exhibition areas compared to last year and they have also announced that more of their small and medium-sized companies will attend the event.

A large number of new products, technologies and services will make their world or China debut at this year's expo, according to a preliminary survey.

New subsections for low-carbon energy and environmental protection technology, biological medicine, smart transportation and intelligent and household appliances will be added to this year's business exhibition areas. Special subsections for incubating companies will also be set up in the Intelligent Industry and Information Technology, Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products and Automobile exhibition areas to connect foreign innovation resources with the Chinese market.

A special subsection that showcases featured products from Central and Eastern European countries will also be added to this year's expo.

In line with efforts to elevate the level of professionalism of the expo, more measures have been taken to invite professional visitors to this year's expo and more play has been given to the exhibitor alliance and specialized committees.

The country exhibition will invite countries to showcase their national image and present their trade and investment advantages on the official website of the CIIE through VR and 3D modeling technologies.

To date, over 50 countries have confirmed their participation in the country exhibition.

This year's Hongqiao International Economic Forum will be centered on global economic cooperation, and will include a main forum and several subforums.

Topics to be discussed at the forum will cover global governance, climate change and trade, and digital economy.

Sun has also pledged to offer better services related to dining, expo entry, logistics, transportation and information sharing during the 4th CIIE. He stressed that strict epidemic prevention and control measures will be implemented to ensure safety.

By Wang Jing