According to the China International Import Expo Bureau, it had planned to organize a total of 150,000 purchasers, but the registration exceeded expectations.

As the first state-level expo that features import as a central theme, the event has been credited as one of the biggest innovations in the history of world trade.

The bureau also said over 40 companies from countries including the United States, France, Germany, and Japan have already signed up for the second CIIE in advance to secure exhibition booths.

Shanghai is scheduled to host the first CIIE from November 5 to 10. Over 130 countries and regions and more than 2,800 companies have confirmed participation in the CIIE.

China has been the world’s second largest importer of goods for nine consecutive years and accounted for 10.2 percent of global imports last year. Chinese authorities expect the country to import goods worth US$24 trillion in the next 15 years.

As an upgrading consumption sector reshapes China’s economic and trade structure, the CIIE is expected to give new impetus to such a transition and make China’s market more accessible than ever.