The registration of commercial exhibitors for the second China International Import Expo, which is scheduled for Nov 5-10 in Shanghai, is drawing to a close, according to the CIIE Bureau.

So far, the total exhibition area reserved has already exceeded that of the first CIIE, said Sun Chenghai, deputy director of the CIIE Bureau, at a meeting held on Thursday.

The planned exhibition area of the second expo will be 330,000 square meters, at least 30,000 sq m larger than the first. The second edition will also offer higher quality exhibits and better services.

Some of the new offerings for the second CIIE will include high-end consumer goods, augmented and virtual reality technologies as well as elder care and rehabilitation products. An outdoor exhibition area will also be added to the event.

So far, a total of 68 companies have joined the CIIE Enterprise Alliance, which was launched on Nov 6 and positioned as a platform to promote the sharing of information and resources as well as facilitate cooperation and exchange among CIIE exhibitors.

Members of the alliance consist of Global Fortune 500-listed companies and industry-leading enterprises.

"We brought the latest products and technologies during the first CIIE, which attracted a large number of visitors and received a lot of positive feedback from our clients and partners," said Max Chen, vice-president of Government Affairs and Policy at General Electric China.

GE is a leading member of the CIIE Enterprise Alliance.

Wang Bingnan, China's vice-minister of commerce, said during the meeting that the CIIE Enterprise Alliance and key exhibitors should continue to play a leading role and allow more enterprises to showcase their innovations at the event so that the CIIE can eventually be seen as the choice platform for debuting cutting-edge products, technologies and services in the international market.