Ninth China import expo 30 days away; 1,200 companies signed up
In short
The ninth China International Import Expo is due to open on Nov 5 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, with organisers marking the one-month countdown on Oct 5. Yicai reported that more than 1,200 companies from 99 countries and regions have signed up, with contracted exhibition space of over 340,000 square metres, and that recruitment for the tenth edition has already begun. Xinhua framed the expo as a signal of China’s continued opening, citing the “15th Five-Year Plan” call to keep holding it and first-time participation by Moldova, Romania and the UNDP in the national exhibition.
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The ninth China International Import Expo is due to open on Nov 5 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, with organisers reaching the one-month countdown on Oct 5, according to Yicai and Xinhua. Yicai reported that more than 1,200 companies from 99 countries and regions have signed up, that contracted exhibition space exceeds 340,000 square metres and that 265 Fortune 500 or industry-leading companies are among the exhibitors. [ 1 , 2 ]
Xinhua framed the event around policy, saying the “15th Five-Year Plan” outline contains a dedicated chapter on expanding high-level opening that states the expo should continue to be held well. A commerce ministry official said the ministry aims to expand imports of quality goods and services to support domestic consumption and industrial upgrading during the plan period. Xinhua also reported that Moldova, Romania and the United Nations Development Programme will join the national exhibition for the first time, that Canada has been invited as guest country of honour for a second time, and that the enterprise exhibition keeps its six zones — technical equipment, consumer goods, food and agricultural products, automobiles and smart mobility, medical devices and healthcare, and trade in services — plus an innovation incubation area. [ 2 ]
Product debuts dominate this year’s programme. AstraZeneca, an exhibitor at all nine editions, will take about 1,000 square metres and bring three innovative therapies, including a hypertension drug it plans to launch in China that was approved in the United States in May 2026, Yicai reported. Boehringer Ingelheim will present 14 frontier results, among them the GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist survodutide, which has received breakthrough therapy designation from the US FDA and China’s CDE and priority medicines status from the European Medicines Agency, the company said. Xinhua reported that Dow’s waterborne silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive will have a global launch, Michelin’s tyre digital twin solution an Asia debut and a new model of GE HealthCare’s “Zhuque” vascular intervention platform a China debut. [ 1 , 2 ]
Exhibits are already moving. Xinhua reported that equipment from Austria’s WFL turning-and-milling technology company was shipped from Linz on Aug 7, including a new turning-and-milling machining centre making its Asia debut, and was expected to arrive in Shanghai in about two weeks. WFL general manager Stefan Hackl said the company regards the expo and Shanghai as a core hub for expanding in the Asia-Pacific market, according to Xinhua. [ 2 ]
Yicai tied the expo to foreign companies deepening their China operations. Henkel, attending for the eighth time, signed a strategic cooperation memorandum with battery maker CALB and opened a battery innovation centre in September, marked one year of its roughly 500-million-yuan adhesives innovation centre in Shanghai with more than 500 scientists and engineers, and said its Shanghai packaging recycling testing centre became the first domestic body qualified to issue EU-standard paper packaging recyclability reports. Boehringer Ingelheim said it will open a new research centre in Zhangjiang, Shanghai, and expects about 20 registration approvals in human pharmaceuticals and nearly 10 new products or indications in animal health by 2030. PwC China vice chairman Zhou Xing said multinational investment in China is shifting from factory construction toward research and innovation centres. Yicai cited commerce ministry data showing 42,582 newly established foreign-invested companies in January-August, up 0.3% year on year, actual use of foreign investment of 479.95 billion yuan, down 5.3%, and high-tech foreign investment of 200.26 billion yuan, up 35.1% and 41.7% of the total. [ 1 ]
Recruitment for the tenth edition has begun, Yicai reported, with more than 30 companies including Roche, Samsung, L’Oréal and Pernod Ricard signed up as first-time exhibitors of all ten editions and described as committed to the “ten-year appointment”. Xinhua placed the event against what it described as weak global economic recovery, rising unilateralism and protectionism and a restructuring international trade landscape, saying China’s ninth consecutive high-standard staging of the expo signals a choice of cooperation rather than confrontation. [ 1 , 2 ]
Why it matters
Both documents present the expo as a test of China’s openness at a time Xinhua describes as one of weak global recovery and rising unilateralism and protectionism. Yicai ties it to a shift in foreign investment toward research and design centres, citing commerce ministry data showing high-tech foreign investment up 35.1% in January-August while overall foreign investment fell 5.3%. Xinhua says the commerce ministry wants the expo to serve domestic consumption and industrial upgrading in the plan’s opening year.
Key facts
- The ninth China International Import Expo is scheduled to open on Nov 5 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Oct 5, 2026 marks one month before the opening, according to both outlets. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Yicai reported that more than 1,200 companies from 99 countries and regions have signed up, with contracted exhibition space of more than 340,000 square metres and 265 Fortune 500 or industry-leading companies. [ 1 ]
- Recruitment for the tenth edition has started, with more than 30 companies including Roche, Samsung, L’Oréal and Pernod Ricard signed up as first-time exhibitors of all ten editions, Yicai reported. [ 1 ]
- Xinhua reported that Moldova, Romania and the United Nations Development Programme will take part in the national exhibition for the first time, and that Canada has been invited as guest country of honour for a second time. [ 2 ]
- Xinhua reported that the first batch of exhibits, WFL turning-and-milling equipment, was shipped from Linz, Austria on Aug 7 and was expected to arrive in Shanghai in about two weeks. [ 2 ]
- Boehringer Ingelheim has shown nearly 50 innovative products and solutions at past editions and will present 14 items this year, the company said, according to both outlets. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The commerce ministry reported that in January-August, 42,582 foreign-invested companies were newly established, up 0.3% year on year, while actual use of foreign investment was 479.95 billion yuan, down 5.3%. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The ninth China International Import Expo will open on Nov 5 in Shanghai and the countdown reached one month on Oct 5, 2026. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Boehringer Ingelheim will present 14 frontier results this year, having shown nearly 50 innovative products and solutions across previous editions, the company said. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The expo is formally backed by the “15th Five-Year Plan” outline, which Xinhua says includes a dedicated chapter on expanding high-level opening that states the expo should continue to be held. [ 2 ]
Still unclear
- The exhibitor figures — more than 1,200 companies from 99 countries and regions, over 340,000 square metres of contracted space and 265 Fortune 500 or leading companies — appear only in Yicai’s report. Single-source: Xinhua gives no matching totals, so the numbers cannot be cross-checked.
- Xinhua says the first batch of exhibits was expected in Shanghai in about two weeks from its Oct 5 report, without giving an exact date. The documents state an approximation rather than a fixed arrival date.
- Yicai names Roche, Samsung, L’Oréal and Pernod Ricard among more than 30 companies it says have signed up for the tenth edition, without an official list. Single-source claim reported by a business outlet; no confirmation from the expo organiser in the documents.
- Boehringer Ingelheim’s GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist survodutide has received breakthrough therapy designation from the US FDA and China’s CDE and priority medicines status from the European Medicines Agency, according to Yicai. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Yicai publishes its 30-day countdown report, citing 1,200-plus signed-up companies from 99 countries and regions and more than 340,000 square metres of contracted exhibition space. [ 1 ]
- Xinhua publishes a countdown commentary citing the “15th Five-Year Plan” commitment to continue holding the expo and detailing the national exhibition and service measures. [ 2 ]
- The first batch of ninth-edition exhibits, WFL turning-and-milling equipment, is shipped from Linz, Austria, including a machining centre making its Asia debut. [ 2 ]