The China International Import Expo has become a route into the Chinese market for small and micro-sized overseas companies that would otherwise struggle to get noticed, according to 新华网客户端. Exhibitors interviewed by the outlet described the Shanghai event as a rare chance to introduce themselves to buyers, partners and consumers in one place.
For Kiran Koirala, this year marked his sixth time at the expo. Before he began attending, his company, Himalayan Threads, was barely known in China, and he said his firm had not known where to promote its products. The expo gave it a platform, and its presence has grown from a 9-square-meter booth to 72 square meters as its goods gained a foothold in the market, 新华网客户端 reported.
Why it matters
The accounts point to a role for the expo beyond the six days of the show itself: giving very small firms a first point of contact with Chinese distributors, manufacturers and online sellers. For companies with limited resources, that exposure can matter more than an immediate order.
Mert Orhan Astam, a founder attending for the first time, said his main goal was to open doors to cooperation. He told the outlet that being understood and finding partners who want to work with him matters more than funding or sales. He added that Chinese customers appear open to new technology and willing to try unfamiliar products. His company is currently in talks with a Chinese robotics firm and is looking for manufacturing and research partners to develop commercial applications for its technology.
From a trial booth to a 150-square-meter stand
New Zealand bedding and apparel maker Pacific Alpaca Home Textiles Group first came to the expo in 2021 with about 100 alpaca quilts and a 9-square-meter stand, according to the report. The company was testing a market it did not yet know well. Its space has since expanded to 150 square meters.
Hu Tao, a company representative, said the benefits went beyond higher sales. She pointed to what she described as the expo's spillover effects: through the event, the firm met a textile manufacturer in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, that helped improve the quality of its quilts, and a marketing agency in Shandong that helped it build a livestream e-commerce channel.
Turning a trade fair into year-round business
Shanghai is trying to keep those connections alive after the exhibition halls close. Under a "6+365 days" approach, the city is extending the expo's reach through the year. As of July 2026, the Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trading Center, which is closely tied to the expo, had gathered more than 85,000 product lines from over 120 countries and regions, 新华网客户端 reported. About 70 percent of those items had been shown at the expo.
Shao Yu, chief economist at the innovation center of Fudan University's School of Management, said such permanent display and trading platforms can convert brief matchmaking at the fair into lasting trade relationships, and give companies more chances to learn what Chinese consumers want.
Shao also cited a stable and predictable market environment, preferential tariff arrangements and simplified customs procedures as reasons firms view China favorably. Small and micro enterprises have limited resources and are less able to absorb shocks, he said, while China's large domestic market, continuing upgrade in consumption and a series of measures to expand imports offer them a stable and broad space to grow.
A report on export capacity released during this year's expo, titled "Report on the Development of Exporting to China," said China's imports still have considerable room to grow as incomes rise and demand shifts toward higher-quality goods and services. Demand for advanced manufactured products and primary commodities also creates opportunities for economies at different stages of development, according to the report.
The ninth edition of the expo also drew attention for artificial intelligence, with international companies looking for new advantages in the AI era, according to a separate report by the Beijing municipal government portal. A video interview by 光明网 with the president of the US-China Business Council focused on American companies' concerns about rising trade protectionism. 新华网 and 人民日报 also published expo coverage on how technology is changing daily life and on global supply chains and smart manufacturing.
For the small exhibitors, the next test is whether contacts made in Shanghai translate into repeat orders and durable partnerships. The progress of the Hongqiao platform's year-round model, and of firms like Himalayan Threads and Pacific Alpaca, will show how far a trade fair can carry a small company into a new market.
