Over 3,000 overseas companies taking part in this year's CIIE

More than 3,000 foreign companies from 150 countries and regions have confirmed their participation in the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) in November, said Sun Chenghai, the deputy director of the CIIE bureau.

To mark the 100-day countdown on July 27 to the second China International Import Expo, organizers announced several supporting policies and gave a briefing on their preparations in Shanghai.

"The exhibition area, new product releases, and the number of Fortune 500 companies and industry leading companies will all exceed the number at last year's expo," Sun said.

A total of 39 domestic trade missions, which include 600 sub-trade missions from provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, have been formed, he said. Registration for professional visitors was opened on July 1.

New sections on elderly care, virtual reality and augmented reality will be added, and the expo will have an outdoor area for those wanting to experience autonomous driving and winter sports.

The General Administration of Customs has established a special customs office at the expo venue, the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, to supervise clearance for foreign exhibits and provide one-stop services for the expo's exhibiting companies.

Dang Xiaohong, deputy head of the department of port control of the GAC, said on Thursday that the customs authorities will allow the expo's organizers to provide unified tax guarantees for participating companies, and facilitate approval and quarantine procedures for exhibit clearance.

Customs has introduced 13 policies to facilitate procedures for the expo this year and published lists of restricted items and prohibited items on its website for prospective exhibitors.

"We will extend the time for the ATA Carnet from six months to one year," Dang said. "And we have made this policy permanent for the CIIE, and will introduce it to other import-expo exhibitions in the country."

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has delegated the approval of imports and exports of endangered aquatic plants and animals to Shanghai municipality.

The Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration said it will give priority to reviewing applications from the expo's exhibitors, and it will set up a service window at the expo's venue.

The expo is the world's first national-level expo dedicated to imports. Last year, the first expo concluded with the value of intended deals topping more than $57.8 billion.

Shang Yuying, deputy secretary-general of Shanghai municipal government, said the city has seen the spillover effect of the expo. Up to July, the year-around transaction platforms in the city have listed more than 13,000 products of 558 exhibitors from the first expo and imported goods worth 75.2 billion yuan ($10.9 billion).