Global exhibitors hail CIIE as 'launching pad' for new products

The China International Import Expo (CIIE) has become a great "launching pad" for global businesses to unveil and test their new products, said some exhibitors at the eighth edition of the event in Shanghai, while highlighting its power to unlock new opportunities in the Chinese market.

Running from November 5 to 10 in Shanghai, the 8th CIIE features the largest exhibition area in its history and a record 4,108 overseas exhibitors from 155 countries, regions, and international organizations under the theme of "New Era, Shared Future."

"The CIIE has always been a great platform to showcase all the products from all over the world, not just in the few days of every year, but also the 365 days of the online platform. This platform has been the launching pad for many of the new products from many of the companies around the globe. I think this is creating such a great window for companies to test their new product launch in this market and to understand consumer behavior and behavior change," said Jiang Ying, chair of Deloitte China.

This sentiment has been strongly echoed by top executives in the food and beverage industry. Denis Vergneau, general manager of Sinodis, a subsidiary of the French Savencia Group in China, noted that China has helped set the pace for global innovation.

"Innovation and speed of innovation, definitely, China is the best. And that's why, you heard before, we launched products in China first. For Savencia in China, by China for China really means something, not just an advertising tagline, it really means something, product development, local development to meet the local consumer needs," said Vergneau.

Romain Peiffert, CEO of GL Events Greater China, pointed to the dynamism of the country's exhibition industry helping provide market opportunities to businesses.

"China's exhibition market is fast moving, very competitive, also evolving very fast. What makes it attractive is with this evolution, there are opportunities. This evolution brings a need for complimentary services, and this is a strong point of GL Events. So, our three branches of the business help us capture some of the market opportunities," said Peiffert.

Global exhibitors hail CIIE as 'launching pad' for new products

An art exhibition featuring 80 pieces of paintings by teenagers was held simultaneously on Wednesday aboard China's orbiting Tiangong space station, which is orbiting about 400 kilometers above Earth, and at the Capital Museum in Beijing.

The artworks, themed "Role Models in My Heart," were displayed and introduced by the Shenzhou-21 crew, comprised of mission commander Zhang Lu and astronauts Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, during their mission aboard the space station.

The event launched its call for entries in July 2025, selecting 80 paintings from a pool of over 15,000 submissions from teens across the country. On October 31, the selected works were sent to the Chinese space station aboard the Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft.

It is the fifth painting exhibition held aboard the Tiangong space station.

Additionally, the offline exhibition at the Capital Museum brings together works displayed during the first five editions of the exhibition, making it the first comprehensive showcase of all five collections. The exhibition will run until May 24.

Art exhibition held aboard China's Tiangong space station, in Beijing museum