SHANGHAI -- The China International Import Expo, the world's first import-themed national-level expo, will open its fifth edition on Saturday in China's economic hub Shanghai.

The event, a major platform bearing witness to the country's pledge to promote sustained reform and opening-up, is expected to inject much-needed impetus into the sluggish global economy.

The following highlights offer a glimpse of what to expect at the upcoming 5th CIIE.

Broader participation

According to official data, a total of 145 countries, regions and international organizations will participate in this year's expo. Enterprises from 127 countries and regions will be involved in the business fair, including those from all the member states of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership -- the world's largest free trade deal to date.

Nicaragua, Djibouti, Mauritania, Comoros, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq and Iceland will for the first time be at the country exhibition of the six-day expo.

Hongqiao Forum 

The Hongqiao International Economic Forum (shortened as the Hongqiao Forum) is an important part of the CIIE, and this year over 20 sub-forums will be held at the forum, themed "Stimulation of Global Opening Up Impetus and Sharing of Cooperation Opportunities."

As a key event of this year's Hongqiao Forum, the session "RCEP Spurs Higher-level Opening-up" will invite representatives of the Chinese and foreign governments, heads of international organizations, and world-renowned businessmen and academics to discuss issues related to regional economic integration and opening-up at a higher level, and give insights into post-pandemic economic recovery and growth.

The World Openness Report 2022 will also be released at the forum.

New subsection for crop seeds

As the second largest seed demander in the world, China's seed market size now exceeds 100 billion yuan ($13.4 billion), according to CIIE Bureau Deputy Director Liu Fuxue.

The 5th CIIE will set up a new subsection for crop seeds. The subsection is expected to further open up the Chinese market to global seed companies, push forward technological innovation and industry upgrading, as well as help with China's efforts to vitalize the seed industry.

Several of the world's leading seed companies, including Bayer, Corteva, Syngenta, Limagrain, and KWS, will join the exhibition.

New tech

Another new subsection will be reserved for artificial intelligence, with a wide range of scenarios on offer at the expo. Activities such as a robot world cup football match, a robot dance performance and VR e-sports competition will be held.

Visitors can create their own virtual characters, attend cloud conferences and experience VR holographic concerts to get a taste of the profound changes brought by AI technology.

Rich cultural activities

The exhibition area for showcasing cultural and people-to-people exchanges at the 5th CIIE exceeds that of the previous session, reaching a size of 32,000 square meters in 2022. The area will display the unique splendor of China's diverse intangible cultural heritage gems, time-honored brands, and tourist attractions. More than 80 performances and exhibitions will be staged.