SHANGHAI — The first match-making session for the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) slated to take place this November was held in Shanghai over the weekend, helping global exhibitors and domestic purchasers better make deals.

Over 130 domestic purchasers including State-owned enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and more than 60 international exhibitors attended the match-making session.

“The match-making session aims to help global enterprises meet potential partners earlier so that they can have more time to discuss and finalize the details on cooperation,” said Cao Pei, a staff with the CIIE.

Many domestic purchasers attended the session with “shopping lists.”

Shi Haifeng, a manager with a Yiwu-based e-commerce company said that his company’s purchases during the first CIIE were “overly welcomed by the market.” For example, the Australian Lanolin cream, one of the purchases made at 2018’s CIIE, made record sales of 600 million yuan ($87.36 million). The company plans to purchase water-purifying products and intelligent wearable products in 2019.

The organizer also arranged roadshows in different Chinese cities to help local enterprises, especially SMEs and private-owned companies, to better understand the opportunities the CIIE brings. The roadshows have been conducted in Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Nanning.