Decorations of the 3rd China International Import Expo (CIIE) are seen at the west entrance of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) in East China's Shanghai, Oct. 23, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

The 3rd China International Import Expo (CIIE), which is one of the world's largest trade fairs, has offered a big stage for overseas brands, and more Chinese online companies have taken the "fast lane" to introduce more goods to the giant market, despite uncertainties in global trade brought by the coronavirus pandemic.  

Alibaba said on Thursday that its import business is still advancing steadily despite global challenges, as its purchasing target for the second year is going smooth. Alibaba earlier set a target of purchasing $200 billion worth of goods in five years.

Alibaba, with nearly 1,000 overseas brands, is attending the CIIE. Overseas brands on the cross-border e-commerce Tmall showed more than 1,400 new products.

China has continued to open up and expand imports, promote the rapid development of the digital economy and cross-border e-commerce, making China a market global brands have been waiting for, Liu Peng, president of Tmall Import and Export said in a note sent to the Global Times.

More than 26,000 overseas brands from 84 countries and regions have entered Tmall International, which includes more than 5,300 categories. More than 80 percent of the brands have entered China for the first time.

JD.com said it is steadily advancing its three-year plan to purchase 400 billion yuan ($60.55 billion) of imported goods. On Thursday, it launched an online imported consumer goods supermarket.

Suning.com said that it will increase its procurement in Europe, the US and other countries and regions. On the basis of continuing to strengthen cooperation with internationally renowned home appliances and 3C (China Compulsory Certification) brands, it will further focus on the procurement and services of large fast-moving consumer goods.

Suning.com said Carrefour will sign contracts with the Italian Trade Commission, Brazilian meat processing giant JBS Group, and brands from New Zealand, Singapore and the US.

Global Times