Signboards for the CIIE in front of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Lujiazui Financial District, Pudong, Shanghai, Oct 11, 2018 [Photo/IC]

East China's Zhejiang province is gearing up for the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10, hoping to take a share of the benefits brought by the event.

"Zhejiang will spare no efforts to prepare for the upcoming expo," said an official from the province's commerce department.

So far, 15,048 companies and nearly 40,000 people from Zhejiang have registered online. Meanwhile, with the help of Zhejiang's private companies and their overseas partners, the province had attracted 480 foreign companies to attend CIIE, which will occupy an exhibition area of 19,400 square meters.

Zhejiang also established two main delegation groups of purchasers from the whole province and its Ningbo city, as well as 13 subgroups for other cities, State-owned companies and Alibaba Group.

"The first CIIE will present myriad high-end goods from around the globe and we'll seize the opportunities," said the official. He explained that Zhejiang will organize 24 matchmaking and agreement-signing activities during the expo.

Zhejiang is a big importer in China. In the first three quarters of 2018, the province's total import value reached 544.72 billion yuan ($78.2 billion), representing 5.3 percent of the country's total.

Workers arrange an exhibit for the first CIIE in Shanghai Oct 30. [Photo/Xinhua]