BEIJING -- The China International Import Expo (CIIE) is not only an annual economic and trade fair, but also an event that boosts China's high-quality economic development, promotes wider opening-up and helps achieve mutual benefits and win-win results, according to experts.

A symposium on the fifth anniversary of the CIIE was held in Beijing on Thursday, gathering officials, academics, and enterprise representatives to discuss related topics.

The CIIE has given full play to its role as a window for building a cooperation platform for those engaged both at home and abroad, and has become a place for exhibitors to debut their new global products, cutting-edge technologies and innovative services, said Vice-Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping, at the symposium.

Sheng added that the expo had played a positive role in promoting China's industrial upgrading, effectively improving domestic supply, promoting consumption upgrading, and establishing a new development pattern.

According to Ministry of Commerce statistics, from 2018 to 2021, exhibitors at the four import expos launched more than 1,500 new products, technologies and services, with an accumulated intended turnover exceeding $270 billion.

Hong Junjie, vice-president of the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics, said the fair not only plays a significant role in attracting investment, driving the implementation of high-level innovation projects, but also builds a platform for domestic enterprises to explore their overseas markets.

"Hosting the CIIE is a major initiative by China to open its market to the world," said Dong Yu, executive vice-president of the China Institute for Development Planning at Tsinghua University.

Dong added that, since the first CIIE was held, China had achieved great results in aspects including speeding up its institutional construction and improving its business environment through opening-up.

"Panasonic signed up for the fifth expo last September," said Zhao Bingdi, president of the Panasonic Corporation of China, adding he looks forward to further showcasing the company's environment-friendly products and technical support solutions for energy conservation and emission reduction at the expo.

The fifth CIIE will take place in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10.