SHANGHA — More than 250 Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders have signed up for the second China International Import Expo (CIIE), the organizer said May 9.

To accommodate to the increasing demand, the booth area for businesses at the 2nd CIIE, to be held in November, will be expanded to 300,000 square meters from 270,000 square meters last year, said Sun Chenghai, vice director of CIIE bureau.

More cutting-edge technologies will be featured at the expo, including VR and AR, self-driving cars, Internet of Things and the blockchain, according to Sun.

Hyundai Motor Group will bring its latest car models and components to this year’s expo, said Lee Hyuk Joon, vice-president of Hyundai Motor Group (China) Ltd, adding that the company’s exhibition area more than doubled to 1,400 square meters.

British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plans to introduce a batch of new medicines, including a shingles preventive vaccine, biologics for lupus erythematosus and treatment of stable COPD, sources with the company said.

A total of 172 countries, regions and international organizations and more than 3,600 enterprises participated in the first CIIE, held Nov 5 to 10 in Shanghai. It was the world’s first import-themed national-level expo.

Deals for intended one-year purchases of goods and services worth $57.83 billion were signed at the first CIIE.