Photo: Yang Hui/GT

The curtain of the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) pulled down on Sunday with a surging intended purchase value over the first CIIE, offered a great platform for enterprises from all over the world with an accelerating opening-up policy despite rising trade protectionism.

The intended purchase value of the second CIIE reached $71.13 billion, which surged 23 percent over the first one, with 391 newly revealed technologies and services, also higher than the first CIIE, said Sun Chenghai, vice director of the CIIE, at the closing ceremony.

Overall, the second CIIE attracted over 3,800 enterprises and more than 500,000 buyers from all over the world to attend the fair. There were over 910,000 visitors at the CIIE as of 12:00 pm on Sunday, Sun noted.

"The CIIE's attraction and international influence is enhancing, and it is increasingly becoming an important platform for international cooperation," Sun said at the press conference. 

Overseas exhibitors boasted that the CIIE is a vindication of China's efforts to open up its market and call for closer cooperation, at a time when US protectionism is on the rise. 

"CIIE is a demonstration of China's efficiencies and achievements. The event plays an important role in driving technological innovation and connecting with global businesses," Clarence Mak, President of Mars Wrigley China, told the Global Times. 

Lebanon-based organic products seller Ibrahim Imad Al-Kaakour also hailed China's opening-up methods as setting a good example in the world. 

"Opening-up is good for everyone. It's a win-win strategy. The opening-up policy is changing the image of China and showing people that it is not only a place for low-cost manufacturing anymore, but it is instead becoming a global market. And it's not only for exports, but for imports as well," he told the Global Times on Sunday. 

"I think China and the US are switching their roles in the world with China being closed in the past, but opening up in recent years, while the US was opening up to the world before, but are closing up nowadays. I think this attracts a lot of markets toward China rather than the US," he said, adding that facing the current economic recession, China can play an important role as not just one of the players, but the key motivator and player behind the world's economic rebound.

Sun introduced in the closing ceremony that a total of 230 enterprises have registered for the third CIIE, and over 80 of them are in the world's top 500 and leading firms will have a registered booth area larger than 50,000 square meters.