Four companies signed exhibition contracts with the China International Import Expo Bureau online on Wednesday, bringing the number of exhibitors for the third edition this year to more than 1,000.

In a video conference, Sun Chenghai, deputy director of the CIIE bureau, signed contracts with senior executives from the China offices of Japanese companies Epson and Takeda, and French companies Lesaffre and Michelin.

Kamran Vossoughi, CEO of Michelin China, said, "CIIE is the platform of exchange and communication between people and the business of the world, and we want to explore the needs of the Chinese market and bring our offers to the Chinese at the CIIE."

"We have confidence in the future of the Chinese economy despite the current novel coronavirus outbreak," he added. "We believe the impact of the epidemic will be short-term and the expo will be held successfully."

Shan Guohong, president of Takeda Pharmaceutical China, said that this was his first time participating in an online signing ceremony and that he liked this "innovative" approach to doing business.

"We participated in the first CIIE but missed the second edition due to internal issues," he said. "We will be happy to showcase our innovation in drugs and medicines at the third edition this November."

Zhou Lingyan, deputy manager of the business exhibition department of the CIIE bureau, said that the viral outbreak has had limited impact on the expo's preparation.

"More than 1,000 companies have confirmed their participation and 50 percent of the expo venue's total exhibition area has already been booked," she said.