By Rui Hu, EDITOR

According to the statistics from Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, as of Nov. 8, the Chongqing Trading Delegation had reached a total of 396 procurement projects and signed 36 investment projects at the first China International Import Expo (CIIE), thus injecting new resources and new markets for the inland opening-up of Chongqing.

Promoting the Building of Inland Opening-up Highland

The first CIIE, themed on the “New Era, Shared Future”, which kicked off in Shanghai on Nov. 5-10, mainly includes exhibitions and forums. It has gathered 3,600 enterprises from 172 countries, regions and international organizations.

The first CIIE welcomed 33 Chongqing trading sub-delegations, which focused their procurement projects on some key areas such as intelligent and high-end equipment, consumer electronics and home appliances, automobiles, clothing & consumer goods, food & agricultural products, medical apparatus & instruments and dietary supplements.

As of Nov. 8, the 33 trading delegations had reached a total of 396 procurement projects, mainly in the areas of commodities, automobiles, intelligent and high-end equipment, medical apparatus & instruments, pharmaceuticals and food from the US, Japan, Mexico, France, Germany, Australia, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong, China.

At the first CIIE, the Chongqing Trading Delegation held two promotion activities: Promotion Forum on Chongqing as the Pioneer of Opening-up in Hinterland China and Key Industries Matchmaking Symposium.

Also, Chongqing Trading Delegation signed 36 investment projects covering intelligent manufacturing, cultural tourism, commerce and trade, energy supply, supply chain logistics and medical services, which injects new resources and new markets for inland opening-up.

Chongqing Expands Its “International Trade Circle of Friends”

During the first CIIE, guests from Ford Motor Company, Bosch China, Lego Brand Group, SAIC Group, CICT and Bailian Group, as well as senior executives from 14 participating multinational companies including Qualcomm, Danone Group, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Siemens and Schneider, conducted extensive exchanges with leaders of Chongqing Trading Delegation in terms of promoting the development of the “Belt and Road Initiative” in Chongqing, deepening cooperation in the fields of intelligent manufacturing, NEVs, intelligent network vehicles, integrated circuits, modern commerce and education, as well as intensifying the strategic layout in Chongqing.

On Nov. 8, during the first CIIE, the China Railway Express (Chongqing) carrying 41 containers arrived in Chongqing from Belarus, marking the normal operation of the “Belarus-Chongqing” return train. The value of the goods on it is about RMB 20m.

Since its opening on Jan. 28, 2011, the CR Express (Chongqing) has accumulated 2,630 runs, becoming the first China-Europe rail cargo transport train nationwide to break through 2,000 runs, with the total import and export value accounting for 35% of the total China-Europe rail cargo transport trains. The ever-expanding CR Express (Chongqing) will become an important hub for China to expand its imports.