The fifth China International Import Expo — the first major international exhibition since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which ended on Oct 22 — will attract a larger number of nations, regions and international organizations than the previous expo, officials said on Nov 1.

A total of 145 nations, regions, and international organizations and enterprises from 127 nations and regions will participate in the event from Nov 5 to 10, far more than last year, Sun Chenghai, deputy director of the CIIE Bureau, said at a news conference in Shanghai.

As many as 284 companies that are on the Fortune 500 list or industry leaders will be present at the corporate exhibitions, and hundreds of new products, technologies, and services will be exhibited at the six major exhibition areas, including consumer and agricultural products, cutting-edge medical devices, state-of-the-art technologies and facilities, and the automotive and service and trade industries, Sun said.

In line with the nation's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and targets through 2035, the event has established special zones for the agricultural species industry and artificial intelligence, optimized the special area for low carbon and environmental protection technology, and expanded the innovation and incubation area. More than 150 startups specialized in technological equipment, consumer products, and the medical and automotive fields will present themselves at the innovation and incubation area.

Gu Honghui, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai municipal government, said the fifth China International Import Expo is an important platform for promoting China's modernization and high-standard opening-up.

Another important part of the China International Import Expo, the Hongqiao International Economic Forum, will focus this year on openness.

As the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) took effect on Jan 1 this year, the high-level session "RCEP Spurs Higher-level Opening Up" will be one of the most important activities during the Hongqiao Forum.

On the theme of "Stimulation of Global Opening-up Impetus and Sharing of Cooperation Opportunities", the Fifth Hongqiao Forum will consist of a main forum, the high-level session "RCEP Spurs Higher-level Opening Up", an international symposium on the release of the World Openness Report 2022 and parallel sessions, according to Sun.

The event showcases China's high-quality implementation of the RCEP agreement and high-standard opening-up, and it has been put into place by the country to share development opportunities with the world, Sun said.

The World Openness Report 2022 will publish, for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak, the World Openness Index. By analyzing the latest hot topics on world openness, the report will also demonstrate China's achievements in opening-up and contributions it has made in the past decade, Sun added.