Shanghai temperament and international style - Feel the order and vitality at the CIIE

“Unprecedented excitement!”

Many participants at the 9th China International Import Expo held in Shanghai from November 5th to 10th had this feeling. Not even halfway through the exhibition, the exhibits brought by many exhibitors were already fully booked, and the early winter rain did not dampen the enthusiasm of the guests.

No matter how chaotic the world economy and the international situation are, the CIIE has been moving forward steadily over the past nine years. It is safe, orderly, dynamic, and win-win... The event is always held new and has made progress nine times in nine years. How is it possible?

Behind the bustling popularity, there is a kind of beautiful power that seems invisible but can actually be felt - the order and vitality of China.

Avenue to simplicity

The first impression given by the CIIE is the word "big".

This year’s exhibition area exceeded 440,000 square meters for the first time, which can accommodate approximately 62 standard football fields, equivalent to two-thirds of the Forbidden City in Beijing. In terms of exhibitors, 162 countries, regions and international organizations participated this year, and 4,142 overseas companies participated. According to the latest statistics, the intended transaction volume of this CIIE in one year reached US$85.45 billion, an increase of 2.3% over the previous session and a record high.

Starting from the first CIIE in 2018, China is expected to import US$40 trillion in goods and services within 15 years. The "bigness" of the Chinese market has been witnessed by the whole world in the international trade data over the past nine years.

At the National Convention and Exhibition Center subway station where the CIIE is held (referred to as "Clover"), there is a heavy flow of passengers every day. How to allow new arrivals to find the exhibition hall calmly, multi-level security and volunteers who maintain order play a key role. There is a road, a line, where is the entrance, where is the exit, and which door different colors of certificates come in and out, there are people to guide you.

Numbers, colors, separation strips, real-name IDs, security inspection equipment... these details all play an important role in modern social management, and are also common practices at the CIIE and large-scale international exhibitions held across China. In the eyes of many overseas participants, these efficient modern social governance methods ensure the most basic and important public need for such ultra-large exhibitions - "a sense of security."

It is worth mentioning that in recent years, the Party and Mass Service Center has been opened within the "Four-Leaf Clover". Volunteers in uniforms inside and outside the CIIE venue are smiling, youthful and enthusiastic about helping others, becoming a beautiful sight.

The road to simplicity. Modern governance and business environment depend on the personal experience of the participants. If guests from all over the world "feel good", it means the environment is excellent.

Seeking innovation while maintaining stability

How to achieve stability while seeking innovation is another challenge for the CIIE to continue to be held.

Every November, we gather at the "Four-Leaf Clover". This time and space positioning is a stable foundation for the CIIE. No matter how the international situation changes, the CIIE is here and China is here.

China builds a platform and the world gets what it needs. About 300 Fortune 500 companies and industry leading companies, as well as business representatives from developing countries carrying a suitcase of goods, gathered on the same stage in the CIIE space, reflecting a higher level of openness and inclusiveness.

According to the organizer, in terms of the area of ​​enterprise exhibition halls, developed economies are still the main participants in the exhibition, and the structure of participating countries is diversified and balanced. Companies from the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom lead the list in terms of area. The United States has ranked first in terms of area for eight consecutive years, with an increase of 1,500 square meters compared with last year. Many American companies use the platform of the CIIE to pursue innovation while maintaining stability and constantly look for new business opportunities.

Adidas, a well-known international sportswear brand, continues to showcase new Chinese-style sports jackets with buckles and stand-up collars this year. According to a person in charge of Adidas Greater China, the new Chinese-style jacket, which was transformed from an exhibit into a commodity at last year’s CIIE, sold 12,000 pieces in 27 minutes after it landed in the North American market. At the company's store on Nanjing East Road in Shanghai, 40% of its new Chinese series sales come from international consumers.

In the eyes of many forward-looking exhibitors, in-depth cooperation with China is both a new fashion and a new business opportunity.

The Austrian-Chinese Music Association came to Shanghai again to use the CIIE to promote Austrian-Chinese music cultural exchanges, music training, music therapy, etc. Schweiger, the founder and chairman of the Austria-China Music Association, said that the five-tone therapy in the Chinese traditional Chinese medicine system is consistent with the Austrian monochord music therapy. He is very confident in establishing a stable long-term cooperative relationship with China.

Over the past nine years, there have been about 200 "full-time students" at the CIIE. Among them are a large number of multinational companies in China. As regular visitors to the CIIE, they are not only the "stabilizer" of the CIIE, but also an important force in participating in innovation.

The German company Merck, which started its business in China in 1933 in the pharmacy of Shanghai Peace Hotel, is now a global technology giant focusing on three major fields: medicine and health, life sciences and electronic technology. Merck China has 21 registered companies and nearly 4,500 employees. During this CIIE, Merck China executives said at the theme event that the CIIE will bring the world into China and allow China to participate more deeply in global innovation exchanges.

The "Merck Science and Technology Day" event was moved to the CIIE site. There is a hot discussion between Chinese and German entrepreneurs: Shanghai is a vibrant metropolis with a blend of Eastern and Western cultures. It is the first choice for many multinational companies to enter China and for Chinese companies to go overseas. They believe that Shanghai is the hub of its development and the largest talent pool in China. Enterprises favor Shanghai to create a new highland for life science and technology.

"R&D in China for the world" is becoming the norm for large multinational companies in their innovation strategies in China. This year’s CIIE has more than 480 representative exhibits that were first exhibited globally, first in Asia, and first in China, setting a record high.

Whether it is business, industry, scientific research, or music, they are all carriers of culture. As goods come in and out, culture goes with them. With the steady help of the CIIE, the Chinese style is getting stronger and stronger, and the exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations have become more colorful.

Smooth coming and going

Orderliness also means that the ecosystem operates smoothly and does not become stagnant or blocked. Just like the meridians of the human body, the general principle is not painful, the key lies in the flow of qi and blood.

At the CIIE, people, money, and things are like blood, "flowing" in specific channels, so that the exhibition can gain vitality. Traffic guarantee inside and outside the venue is one such kind of pipeline.

Jia Weijian, president of Shanghai Dazhong Transportation (Group) Co., Ltd., told reporters that Shanghai's integrated transportation planning plan adheres to data-driven, refined management, and continues to improve the overall road traffic efficiency. This is an indispensable factor for the CIIE to maintain orderly operation and stability in the nine years.

For the first CIIE in 2018, Volkswagen Transportation invested 700 support vehicles. By 2026, the total number of support vehicles will remain unchanged. Even as the number of visitors continues to grow, it can still achieve "passenger-to-vehicle" and efficiently complete evacuation tasks. On the one hand, this is due to the continuous optimization of the city's general traffic order, and on the other hand, it relies on the improvement of digital dispatching capabilities, relying on the platform to quickly dispatch off-site vehicles to fill up their seats. At the same time, this team has been serving the CIIE for a long time. It has a stable team of drivers, is familiar with the road conditions and passenger flow patterns around the exhibition hall, and has mature foreign-related service capabilities. The front and middle offices work together to ensure smooth and orderly traffic at the CIIE.

The entire large-scale system is scientifically configured, and grassroots service units are continuously improving in resource allocation capabilities, digital intelligence capabilities, rapid response capabilities, and team collaboration capabilities. This is the experience of mass transportation, and it is also the common feeling of many CIIE participants.

In a cyclical environment where the world economy is full of challenges and the Chinese economy is coping with downward pressure, business entities have proactively adapted to changes and created pathways, which not only ensures their own viability, but also makes a positive contribution to the overall development of the city.

In terms of exhibitors, among the more than 4,000 exhibiting companies this year, more than 2,000 are "new faces" making their debut, accounting for about half of the exhibitors. This shows that a wealth of new blood has been injected into the pipeline of the CIIE.

It is crucial that the CIIE platform connects the dividends of China's ultra-large-scale markets to benefit more countries, more companies and individuals, and that they can flow smoothly and smoothly.

See the future

In traditional Chinese culture, "nine", as the largest natural number, has special significance. Nine years after the CIIE, the future is already here.

From scratch, from something to strength, the CIIE was founded amidst the world's greatest changes in a century. It is the world's first national-level exhibition with the theme of imports. It is a major initiative in the history of international trade development. It promotes a new round of high-level opening up to the outside world and proactively opens the market to the world.

Taking the automobile industry as an example, more and more large multinational companies have stepped up their efforts to adjust their strategies in China in recent years to align their operations with China's development pace. The Chinese market has significant advantages in AI technology, efficient supply chains and huge application scenarios. The development path of foreign companies in China has shifted from one-way technology export to two-way complementation of capabilities. The reshaping of the division of labor in the global industrial chain is accelerating.

What happens simultaneously with the reshaping of the industrial chain is the reshaping of rules. Reshaping the rules does not happen overnight. Knowledge accumulation is a necessary link.

The three major reports released at this year's Hongqiao International Economic Forum: "Export China Capability Development Report", "World Openness Report 2026" and "2026 World Trade Report" have attracted attention. In particular, this year's new "Exporting to China Capability Development Report" studies the export structure of trading partners and the adaptation of products to the Chinese market from multiple dimensions, forming an analytical framework that can be replicated and promoted to help partners at different development stages find ways to share China's opportunities.

Alexander Fessas, Secretary-General of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, who came to Shanghai during the CIIE, said that Shanghai, as China’s open gateway to the world, is becoming an important global trade, financial and cultural hub. Chinese companies are increasingly cooperating with international companies, and the demand for international arbitration services continues to increase. The Court of Arbitration will cooperate to share new concepts of international commercial dispute resolution, bring the vivid practice of Shanghai’s arbitration development to the world, and help Shanghai become one of the most popular arbitration locations in the world.

There is market transaction space, abundant human resources, huge application scenarios, and a commercial dispute resolution platform. Whether it is hard power venues or soft power rule formulation and operational services, China promotes a higher level of openness in the world economy, advances in knowledge and action, and the results are obvious.

As a frontier window for China's reform and opening up and an international metropolis with deep global links, Shanghai has accelerated the construction of the "Five Centers" and accelerated the building of a modern socialist international metropolis with world influence, giving full play to its leading and exemplary role in promoting Chinese-style modernization. The new development concepts of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing have been brilliantly demonstrated in the nine-year history of the CIIE.

The order and vitality felt from the CIIE are a developing and dynamically balanced order, and a combination of traditional governance wisdom and modern governance goals.

During the first China International Import Expo nine years ago, reporters came to the Bund and looked at the buildings on both sides of the Huangpu River. They were amazed at how the old and new styles complemented each other. Today, nine years later, I came to the riverside again, with a 360-degree view. From a global perspective, there is not only the integration of east and west, but also south-south cooperation and north-south connectivity, presenting a new picture of the integration and development of east-west, north-south around the world in the new era.

Open to all rivers, pursue excellence, be open-minded and wise, and be humble. The CIIE with the spirit of Shanghai is like a classic case, vividly interpreting the international style of Chinese modernization. In this "four-leaf clover" full of possibilities, a new kind of globalization in the 21st century, a new business civilization order facing the future, is taking root downwards and growing upwards.