Expo's success increases global appeal and anticipation for sixth edition

Officials attend an event where the China International Import Expo Bureau releases a report on the influence of the fifth CIIE on Monday. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The total exposure of the fifth China International Import Expo has exceeded 5.6 billion hits and that of all five sessions of the annual event combined has surpassed 10 billion hits, according to a report on the communication impact of the fifth CIIE released on Monday.

Total exposure includes data such as the number of page views recorded on news apps, WeChat and Sina Weibo accounts, and the watch time recorded on video platforms such as TikTok and Kuaishou, the report explains.

The report comes as a "year-end report card" for the CIIE as Lunar New Year draws near, said a representative of the CIIE Bureau, the event's organizer.

Sun Chenghai, Party secretary and deputy director-general of the CIIE Bureau, and chairman of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), said in his address that as the first major international exhibition held in China after the conclusion of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the fifth CIIE featured extensive media coverage, positive social feedback and strong influence.

"The event received tremendous attention from news outlets, businesses and netizens, among others," he noted. "The event's overseas coverage and influence has continued to increase."

The report was jointly compiled by the CIIE Bureau, the NECC (Shanghai) and the People's Daily Online Public Opinion Data Center. It is aimed at "presenting an accurate assessment of the communication impact of the exhibitors and demonstrating the communication impact and influence of the expo in an all-around way", according to the event's organizer.

The report has identified six main characteristics of the communication impact of the fifth CIIE: First, the event attracted a great deal of media coverage and became a louder voice; second, the in-depth reporting by mainstream media enhanced the influence of the event; third, the reporting of the event by a host of overseas media outlets testified to its enhanced international influence; fourth, the event featured multiple highlights and unique communication content; fifth, the exhibitors and their exhibits drew a lot of attention; and sixth, the wide range of activities held during the event formed a joint force of communication.

Liu Fuxue, deputy director-general of the CIIE Bureau, and Party secretary and vice-president of the NECC (Shanghai), announced rankings including the top 100 exhibitors in terms of comprehensive media coverage and influence, the top 10 most reported exhibitors in each exhibition area, and the top 10 most reported trade delegations.

Bayer, Nissan Motor, Qualcomm, Panasonic and KPMG topped the media coverage rankings of their respective exhibition areas at the fifth CIIE.

Bank of China was rated as the most reported CIIE partner during the fifth CIIE, and the Shanghai trade delegation attracted the most media attention among major trade delegations participating in the event.

The fifth CIIE Trade and Investment Matchmaking Meeting, the Exhibitor Alliance Conference and other supporting activities were widely reported on. In terms of cultural exchanges, the areas for displaying time-honored Chinese brands and intangible cultural heritage grabbed considerable attention, said the organizer.

Following the release of the report, 20 companies signed up for the sixth CIIE at a virtual ceremony, bringing the total number of exhibitors signing up for the event to more than 300. This demonstrates their confidence in the vast China market, according to the organizer.

The 20 companies included Nestle, Treasury Wine Estates, Toyota, Michelin, Johnson Controls and Siemens.

Preparatory work for the sixth CIIE, which is scheduled to take place at the NECC(Shanghai) from Nov 5 to 10, is progressing smoothly, according to the event's organizer.