A smart unmanned vaccination capsule made by French multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi makes its debut during the third China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.  Photo: Yang Hui/GT

A total of 26 companies including global industry-leading firms such as L'Oréal, Bayer, Miji Design Germany, Ernst & Young and HSBC on Tuesday signed up to participate in the fifth China International Import Expo next year in Shanghai, showing strong confidence in China's economic growth in the future.

A total of 284 Fortune Global 500 and industry-leading firms have confirmed their participation in the fourth CIIE which will be held from November 5 to 10 this year in Shanghai, surpassing last year's number of participants. Over 80 percent of those who will present at this year's exhibition are repeat attendees, Sun Chenghai, deputy director of the CIIE Bureau said at a keynote speech on Tuesday in Shanghai. 

Over 30 companies will come to the expo for the first time including Amazon, Dream Cruises and Nikon, according to CIIE Bureau. 

Many foreign companies showed their confidence in the Chinese market and have signed up to attend the fifth CIIE scheduled to be held in 2022 in Shanghai.

Some said they have benefited from previous CIIEs, which is the reason why they will attend next year's event. "By bringing some of our service products into China, we have developed. Our business has grown in the last two or three years," Domenico Palumbo, COO from Canadian company GSGC & DDIGROUP, which provides high-quality lifestyle services told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

Previously, Chinese consumers used to travel to Canada and experience their services over there. However, "we are bringing our products from Canada into China," Palumbo said, noting that the Chinese market has been dealing with the pandemic very well.

Ulrich Stefer, Chief Financial Officer of Bayer Group Greater China told the Global Times on Tuesday that there are "a lot of benefits" that they are looking very much forward to this time.

As a participant of the previous three expos, he said Bayer has learnt to appreciate the dialogue as they hope to connect with patients, pharmas, and industry peers at the expo and sign some contracts as well.

"It's also important for us to showcase our products," Stefer said, showing "what we can contribute," always with an eye to the future.

"We've got a lot of new opportunities in China since we have developed in the city," Enea Colombo, global general manager from Italian company Icona Design Group told the Global Times on Tuesday. It's the company's second time attending the event as they have seen more opportunities from the first time.

He believed that they would continue the cooperation. "China's economy will be more prosperous in the future," Colombo said. "We can see how China dealt last year with the pandemic," he said, noting that it gave them a lot of confidence to "make more investment in China" and continue to make efforts to develop their business there.

Since CIIE Enterprise Alliance, a premium platform promoting information and resources sharing was initiated in November 2018, it has attracted many global leading companies. There are 13 special committees under the platform, covering many sectors including public health, auto, daily consumption, industrial digital transformation and sports, aiming to bridge the gap between the Chinese market and global companies.