CIIE a testament to China's higher-level opening-up: vice minister

The 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE), which is scheduled to be held from Nov 5 to 10 in Shanghai, will serve as a testament to China's commitment to higher-level opening-up, said Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping in Beijing on Tuesday

Speaking at a press conference, Sheng said the expo is expected to more certainties into the global economic growth.

With an exhibition area of over 367,000 square meters, the expo will bring together 4,108 exhibitors from 138 countries and regions, reflecting the firm confidence of the international community in China's economy, he said.

"China has been the world's second largest import market for 16 consecutive years. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China's import of goods and services is expected to exceed 15 trillion U.S. dollars. In the coming decade or so, the number of the country's middle-income class members will surpass 800 million, with a huge potential for becoming a super-large-scale market. Endorsed by the large Chinese market, the first seven sessions of the CIIE have achieved a turnover of over 500 billion U.S. dollars, helping companies from various countries to cope with global market volatility and predicament together. This has demonstrated China's determination to share market opportunities," Sheng said.

Sheng noted that via the CIIE, China has been continuously promoting trade and investment facilitation and intellectual property rights protection, and providing a stable, transparent and predictable business environment.

"The 8th CIIE will prove with concrete actions that China's door of opening up will only be wider. We are ready to work with all other parties to enlarge the pie of the global market, solidify mechanisms for shared development, and invigorate models of win-win cooperation, so as to inject fresh momentum into global economic growth," he said.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 20 pips to 7.0108 against the U.S. dollar Monday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.