China International Import Expo Championed in Shanghai's Sister City Liverpool

Guests join the ribbon cutting ceremony to launch the Amazing Shanghai exhibition in Liverpool, Britain. [Photo: China Plus/Duan Xuelian]

A publicity event championing the 2018 China International Import Expo to be held in Shanghai in November has been held in Liverpool.

An exhibition showcasing the business potential of Shanghai was launched at the 2018 Liverpool International Business Festival. One of the themes of the exhibition, titled Amazing Shanghai, was to promote the China International Import Expo, or CIIE to be held in Shanghai from November 5th to 10th.

In his opening remarks at the exhibition, Xu Kunlin, vice mayor of Shanghai, said that Shanghai and Liverpool are sister cities and have been close partners in trade and investment. He said that for businesses with a global vision, CIIE is something they can't miss.

"The CIIE is a major move of China to voluntarily open its market to the rest of the world. China is willing to blaze new trails for more trade and cooperation among countries, and promote common prosperity of the world economy and trade. We believe that the CIIE will further enhance exchange and cooperation between our two countries in business and trade, finance, manufacturing, culture, education, etc."

The vice mayor said that the scale of the international expo is unprecedented, with more than 1,100 businesses from over 120 countries having registered their places so far.

Gary Miller, vice mayor of Liverpool also called on local businesses to attend CIIE, commending the long lasting friendship between his city and Shanghai.

"I would like you within the Liverpool city region and the Northern Powerhouse to come to Shanghai to export and send products from this country into the Chinese market, so join us."

Liverpool and Shanghai will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their sister cityhood in 2019. Max Steinberg, Chair of the 2018 Liverpool International Business Festival said he was glad to welcome the Shanghai delegation to take part in the festival. He was also impressed by the design of this year's Shanghai city stand at the festival.

"The fantastic Shanghai stand, if you haven't been please go to it, it is absolutely outstanding. Besides traditional ways of displaying the booth, the latest augmented reality technology and the big pixel from Shanghai blows your mind away."

Visitors to the Shanghai stand at the festival can take a virtual tour of the Chinese city with the help of the latest digital technology.