A mind-blowing lineup of six guests of honor, namely, Malaysia, France, Nicaragua, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, and Uzbekistan, on Tuesday opened their distinctive pavilions at the country exhibition of the ongoing seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim attended the opening ceremony of the 252-square-meter Malaysian pavilion where 16 exhibitors brought a variety of exhibits including fruits, edible bird's nests, clothing, and manned aircraft.
Unlike the previous years, this time Malaysia's exhibits focus on professional services, electrical and electronics, oil and gas, information and communication technology.
Meanwhile, the France pavilion displays exhibits from 19 companies covering different fields from articles of luxury, consumer goods, food and beverage, healthcare and industry.
The Nicaragua booth consists of multiple themed areas such as cultural displays, tourism highlights, export commodities and national economic potential, allowing people to experience Nicaragua's unique customs and culture in an immersive way.
Tanzania showcased leather goods, wood carvings, oil paintings, and agricultural products, including honey which is a new product added to the export agreement recently signed with China.
"This time the company participating in the CIIE is increasing. We have 39 companies from Tanzania this time, so we display several projects. We display agricultural projects, we display minings, we display projects of our government," said Latifa M. Khamis, director general of the Tanzania Trade Development Authority.
The CIIE is the world's first national-level exhibition dedicated to imports. Running from Nov 5 to 10 under the theme of "New Era, Shared Future," the seventh CIIE has attracted participants from 152 countries, regions and international organizations to participate in its country exhibition and business exhibition.
Guest countries of honor showcase their strengths at ongoing 7th CIIE
China's two major power grid operators -- the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) and China Southern Power Grid (CSG) -- reported a surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction and support high-quality socioeconomic development in China.
The State Grid said it completed fixed-asset investment worth 129 billion yuan (about 18.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, up 37 percent the corresponding period of the previous year. The spending has driven more than 250 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across the wider industrial chain.
Key projects such as the Panxi ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) line and the Anhui-Hubei back-to-back direct current (DC) project have seen ground broken for their construction, while several west-to-east power transmission projects have been upgraded.
Investment in connecting renewable energy generation to the grid was reported to have exceeded 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.
The CSG also reported robust growth in investment in the three-month period, with fixed-asset investment reaching 38.45 billion yuan (5.58 billion U.S. dollars), up about 50 percent from a year earlier.
Among its achievements, the company completed and commissioned 80 key projects, including the 220 kV cross-sea power grid interconnection project, which was officially put into operation on March 20. The project ended years of grid isolation on the Weizhou Island in south China by linking it to the main power system of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The construction of 17 other major energy projects, including one linking the power grid of the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China with that of Guangdong Province in south China, is advancing rapidly. These projects are expected to bolster regional industries, the maritime economy, digital collaboration and the transition to green energy.
"By accelerating major project construction, investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is expected to approach 1 trillion yuan (145 billion U.S. dollars), driving a further 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across upstream and downstream industries," said Dong Yanle, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Department under the China Southern Power Grid.
China ramps up power grid investment in January-March to boost growth
