The 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE) launched its cloud series on Monday, which consists of the online national exhibition and the Digital CIIE platform.

A total of 30 countries and international organizations have taken part in the online country exhibition which is now in trail operation, said Sun Chenghai, deputy director of China International Import Expo Bureau.

The Digital CIIE platform, which has attracted more than 300 exhibitors, focuses mainly on the technology and equipment exhibition area of the 5th CIIE, Sun said, adding that the platform is set to offer a visiting experience comparable to that of an offline exhibition.

The CIIE first introduced the online exhibition last year, which adopts technologies such as 3D modelling and multimedia to build digital pavilions of the participating countries to showcase their economic development and cultural highlights. The online exhibition can be accessed through the official website of the CIIE (country.ciie.org). The pavilions of 30 countries, including Austria, Croatia, Sri Lanka and Mozambique have already been opened to the public.

Helmut Rakowitsch, Austria's consul general in Shanghai, who was present at the launch ceremony, said that besides a grand online exhibition, a total of 11 companies from Austria, including Zotter Chocolate, will participate in this year's offline exhibition.

"China is the biggest trade partner in Asia and ranks fifth globally for Austria," said Rakowitsch. "Austria has a lot to offer to China and the CIIE brings these possibilities together, matching these possibilities with the Chinese industry companies."