Some 26 companies signed on-site to become the first batch of exhibitors for the 2025 China International Import Expo when recruitment began on Wednesday in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

L'Oréal, Volvo Cars, HSBC and Louis Dreyfus Company, among others, have signed contracts for the exhibition for eight consecutive years.

Wu Guangyu, general manager of Dun & Bradstreet China, will participate for the fifth time.

His company is a leading global business decision data and analytics provider headquartered in the United States. He sees an increasing trend of multinational companies focusing on this expo.

"Everyone hopes to utilize this platform to showcase themselves, find customers, and then locate partners," said Wu.

"Currently, the Chinese market has a solid drive for innovation," he added. "We also hope to increase our investment in production and research in China and leverage the innovative capabilities of the Chinese market to serve customers globally. For multinational companies, this is certainly a significant and essential market."

Tang Wenhong, assistant minister of commerce, noted that the 2024 China International Import Expo will be held in Shanghai from November 5th to 10th this year. Exhibitor recruitment has entered the final stage, and the contracted exhibition area will exceed 350,000 square meters.

Tang further explained that as the world's first national-level expo with imports as its theme, the previous six China International Import Expos featured over 19,000 exhibitors and showcased more than 2,400 new products, technologies and services for the first time. The expo boasts a cumulative intended transaction value exceeding $420 billion.

The signing ceremony is part of the China International Import Expo in Guangxi, a series of events held from Wednesday to Friday. The event includes themed promotion meetings and specialized matchmaking sessions in six exhibition areas featuring technology equipment, consumer goods, automobiles, food and agricultural products, medical devices and healthcare. There will also be on-site inspection and exchange activities.