The south square of the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, adorned with vibrant floral arrangements, welcomes guests on the eve of the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) on October 31, 2025. Photo: VCG

The launch ceremony for the "Big Market for All: Exports to China" series of events was held in East China's Shanghai on Tuesday, ahead of the opening of the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) on Wednesday, which sends a positive signal to the world of shared opportunities from China's high-quality development.

During the event, multiple foreign enterprise representatives recognized opportunities brought about by China's continuous opening-up and stressed their commitment to expand in the large market amid positive view on the prospects of the world's second-largest economy.

During the coffee break before the launch ceremony, Global Times reporters saw representatives from Chinese and foreign business circles holding coffee or tea, chatting in small groups. Many of them are old friends and business partners of many years.

Behind this scene lies the bridge for communication and cooperation that the CIIE has built for global enterprises.

The Chinese government has already made great strides in the high-quality opening-up. And the CIIE is a sharing platform demonstrated exactly this. High-quality, innovative products to be imported into China support growing customer demands here, Rainer Kern, vice president of German cleaning company Karcher Group and chief financial officer of Karcher China, told the Global Times. 

The CIIE is a great platform to showcase latest technologies, Kern said.

Tino Zeiske, CEO of German multinational Metro, told the Global Times on Tuesday that he has participated in the CIIE for the 8th time this year. "This year like always, we bring new products and we want to show our strength," he said, noting that "by putting the CIIE at such a high level of attendance, the government has an interest to show there is fair competition and we can all win into a game, which gives us great potential for the future."

China has achieved a lot in the area of digital innovation. Clearly, even in our business of retail, we are pretty much buying all these new technological solutions. The country has such a big potential and is moving forward all the time, Zeiske said.

And, I expect this to happen also in the next five years because the government pays very high attention to economic growth and to creating wealth in consumption with the population. That's what we exactly need as a retailer in the country, he said.