Editor's note: Thanks to China's effective prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country successfully held a series of industrial exhibitions in 2021.

From the China International Fair for Trade in Services to the China International Import Expo, China further opened up its market in both goods and services to the international business community.

Participants attending both online and offline events demonstrated their confidence in China's high-level opening-up and common aspiration for building an open world economy for a shared future.

The 4th China International Import Expo

The fourth edition of the China International Import Expo, the first import-themed national-level exhibition in the world, was held in Shanghai — China's financial center — between Nov 5 and 10.

With a total exhibition area of 366,000 square meters, this year's event drew nearly 3,000 enterprises from 127 countries and regions, with $70.72 billion in tentative deals reached.

A total of 281 Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders attended this year's exhibition, with 40 newcomers for CIIE and 120 participating in the event for the fourth consecutive year. A record 422 new products, technologies and service items were released at the event, in product categories including low-carbon, digital, intelligence, health and art.

The continuous success of the CIIE has demonstrated that countries around the world are confident in China's high-level opening-up and have a common aspiration for building an open world economy for a shared future.

China International Fair for Trade in Services

The 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services was held between Sept 2 and 7 at the China National Convention Center and Shougang Industrial Park in Beijing. Titled "Towards Digital Future and Service Driven Development", this year's CIFTIS played host to over 150 countries and regions, which attended the event both online and offline.

During the six-day event, CIFTIS saw 642 deals clinched, 223 investment agreements reached and 46 alliances formed, with 87 projects relating to cultural integrated development and 14 in the sports sector.

As one of the three exhibition platforms for opening-up in China, CIFTIS is the first comprehensive fair for trade in services in the world and the leading fair for trade in services in China.

The success of the 2021 CIFTIS demonstrated its role as a key platform for the country's opening-up and innovative development by providing opportunities for all involved parties and instilling confidence in a global economic recovery.

The Light of Internet Expo

The 2021 World Internet Conference & The Light of Internet Expo was held in Wuzhen, East China's Zhejiang province, between Sept 25 and 28.

Titled "Towards a New Era of Digital Civilization - Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace", the event attracted over 300 Chinese and foreign companies to showcase their work in the latest digital technology. The exhibits covered a variety of areas including artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, blockchain and cybersecurity.

About 14 top-level achievements of internet technology were unveiled during this period, along with two reports — the "World Internet Development Report 2021" and the "China Internet Development Report 2021."

China's successful holding of the 2021 World Internet Conference & The Light of Internet Expo showcased the country's willingness to work with other nations to make good use of digital technology in building a community with a shared future for humankind.

China International Consumer Products Expo

The first China International Consumer Products Expo, or CICPE, was held in Haikou, South China's Hainan province, a new engine of China's high-quality development strategy, from May 7 to 10.

Titled "An Open China, A Pioneering Hainan", the expo is a new platform to demonstrate China's willingness to share its market opportunities with the world and contribute to global economic recovery.

With an exhibition area of 80,000 square meters, the expo attracted high-quality consumer products from home and abroad to help build the island into a global duty-free shopping center and fashion consumption base. The expo, which was expected to become the largest boutique exhibition in the Asia-Pacific, attracted 2,628 domestic and overseas brands, including 1,365 international brands from 69 countries and regions.

With the first CICPE, the country is giving full play to the advantages brought by the Hainan Free Trade Port, which demonstrates China's determination to push ahead with its high-level opening-up and set an example for high-quality development nationwide.

China Import and Export Fair

The China Import and Export Fair, or Canton Fair, was held twice this year - the 129th session was held online from April 15 to 24 and the 130th held both offline and online from Oct 15 to Nov 3. A total of 26,000 participating companies submitted more than 2.76 million exhibits during the 129th Canton Fair, which received 35.38 million visits on its official website and attracted 880,000 viewers to its livestreaming programs.

The 130th Canton Fair attracted more than 600,000 visitors from around the world, with in-person attendance resuming after being suspended for three sessions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

About 8,000 domestic and overseas foreign companies showcased their latest products and technologies in 51 exhibition zones, covering an area of 400,000 square meters. Another 26,000 firms displayed their technologies, goods and services online.

The Canton Fair, founded in 1957, is seen as an important barometer of China's foreign trade. The holding of the event both online and offline this year demonstrated China's effective containment of COVID-19 and the country's determination to further open up its market.

China-ASEAN Expo

This year's China-ASEAN Expo and the concurrent China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, which were held from Sept 10 to 13 in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, served as witness to the great changes taking place over the past 18 years.

From cellphones to smartphones, from laptops to tablets, from cash to digital payments, remarkable improvements were shown through this year's event, with a total exhibition space of about 102,000 square meters for offline exhibitors.

Titled "Sharing Opportunities Created by the New Land-Sea Corridor, Building the China-ASEAN Community with a Shared Future", the expo attracted enterprises from more than 40 countries and regions, including ASEAN member countries and 30 Belt and Road economies. More than 1,500 enterprises participated in the in-person exhibitions, and the exhibition area for foreign countries was about 20,000 square meters, up 13.4 percent year-on-year.

The achievements made during the past 18 years send a strong signal that China is committed to working with ASEAN to deepen all-around cooperation and benefit people on both sides of the world, amid continuing joint efforts to forge higher-level strategic partnerships.