People attend the establishment ceremony of the committee for public health and epidemic prevention in east China's Shanghai, July 26, 2020. The exhibitors' association of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) announced Sunday to set up some special committees, including one for public health and epidemic prevention. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

ECOMO, ventilators, protective equipment, testing kits, and medical imaging equipment that have played an indispensable role in the global fight against COVID-19 will be in the spotlight at the third China International Import Expo (CIIE), as the event has opened up a new section for public health and epidemic prevention.

The section has already attracted nearly 50 leading enterprises, with the exhibition area reaching over 10,000 square meters, according to a Sunday release from the CIIE.

Nearly 40 of them are Fortune 500 companies or industrial leaders, which include Pfizer, Merck Sharpe and Dohme Sharpe, Roche, Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, and Novartis, according to media reports.

Apart from COVID-19 control, prevention, treatment, and technologies, there will also be discussions on the development trends of the public health and epidemic prevention industry, Xinhua News reported.

US drug giant Pfizer has signed up for a 1,150-square-meter exhibition space with the CIIE this year, to share the company's experience and achievements in COVID-19 control and its latest vaccine product pipeline, the company told the Global Times in an email on Monday.

This is the second time for Pfizer, which has been in China for 31 years, to participate in the CIIE. "We see great potential for development in China's pharmaceutical industry," the company said, adding that it is full of confidence in the prospects of the Chinese market despite COVID-19, and will continue to invest in the Chinese market. 

Qiu Jianping, general manager of Abbott Rapid Diagnostics Greater China told the Global Times in a written reply that Abbot will showcase a series of advanced COVID-19 testing, medical nutrition, and diabetes management technologies that have been widely used in the global fight against the pandemic.

"We would like to provide more innovative solutions in this protracted battle," Qiu said.

It will also present breakthrough innovative products from its four core businesses of diagnostics, medical devices, nutrition and pharmaceuticals at a booth of more than 600 square meters at the CIIE. 

To facilitate the exchanges on the cutting-edge public health and epidemic prevention products, technologies and services, the CIIE also set up a Special Committee of the Public Health and Epidemic Prevention Section at the first meeting of the third CIIE Enterprise Alliance held on Sunday. US pharmaceutical giant Merck Sharp & Dohme (China) was appointed the first rotating director.

"We hope we can integrate industry resources and create an industrial cluster of public health and epidemic prevention enterprises," Sun Fuan, deputy director of the China International Import Expo Bureau, said at the event.