A SHARED FUTURE

While addressing the first edition, Xi said the CIIE will be held annually and would "feature good performance, good results and continued success in the years to come."

"China has a population of 1.4 billion and a middle-income group that exceeds 400 million," Xi noted at the third CIIE in 2020. "The vastly huge China market is the most promising in the world. Total import into China is estimated to top $22 trillion in the coming decade."

A few days ago, at a contract signing conference, about 60 enterprises and institutions signed up for the sixth CIIE, many of which were five-time exhibitors.

"The success of the CIIE for the fifth consecutive year demonstrates the strong resilience of China's economy and its huge market size. It reinforces our determination to take deep root in China and serve China," said Hann Pang, president of Thermo Fisher China.

"China is ready to work with all countries to practice true multilateralism, build more consensus for openness, jointly overcome the difficulties and challenges confronting global economic growth, and make sure that our commitment to openness will bring about broad prospects for global development," Xi said at the fifth CIIE.