The 2026 CIIE Shanghai Events and Conferences concluded on Nov 9, yielding nearly 80 outcomes, including new business service platforms, research reports, and cooperation agreements.

Held from Nov 6 to 9 alongside the ninth China International Import Expo, the program featured 92 sideline events and drew more than 9,300 participants. CIIE exhibitors and buyers made up nearly half of attendees.

Executives from multinational companies, including BMW, Ikea, Volkswagen, Schneider Electric, and EY, participated in discussions on international trade, sustainability, and artificial intelligence.

The events also included the announcement of new trade measures and international cooperation projects.

More support for cross-border e-commerce

Shanghai announced new measures to accelerate the development of its Silk Road E-commerce cooperation pilot zone during the events.

The measures include strengthening international sourcing and supply chains and linking cross-border e-commerce with manufacturing clusters.

The city also plans to develop Shanghai into a global e-commerce hub, with a focus on strengthening Pudong New Area and the Hongqiao International Central Business District.

Other priorities include promoting paperless trade, improving connectivity between cross-border electronic payment systems, and encouraging AI use in e-commerce.

The 2026 Shanghai Silk Road E-commerce Selection Month opened on Nov 7 and runs through Nov 30, featuring more than 20 online and offline promotional activities that showcase products from partner countries.

The program brings together major e-commerce platforms, trade promotion organizations, national pavilions, and international brands. Highlights include an Italian Food Week at Freshippo, an Italian national pavilion on Dewu developed in partnership with the Italian Trade Agency, and promotions featuring products from African countries.

Cooperation agreements and other outcomes

The events also saw the signing of cooperation agreements covering China-Africa agricultural supply chains, international mining, and Silk Road e-commerce.

At the Belt and Road CIIE International Cooperation Conference, a China-market launch ceremony was held for Benin's Sugarloaf pineapples, three years after Beninese pineapples first appeared at the CIIE in 2023. The conference also announced plans to establish a Belt and Road public service platform.

Several research reports were also released, including the Annual Report on the Development of Shanghai Opening-up (2026) and the CIIE Extended Effects Index Report (2026). The latter showed that in 2025, Shanghai's CIIE extended effects index rose 18.88 percent year-on-year to 68.19, while the Hongqiao International CBD index climbed 54.58 percent to 93.01.

A Hongqiao office of the Shanghai Commercial Mediation Center was also unveiled.

Sources: Shanghai Observer, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce