An aerial view shows volunteers posing amid decorations at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, the venue for the third China International Import Expo. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]

More than 500 Xiamen enterprises are seeking business opportunities at the ongoing third China International Import Expo (CIIE), which runs from Nov 5 to 10, local media reported.

Compared with the second CIIE, this year's expo has improved in many aspects. The exhibition area has been expanded to 360,000 square meters, and four special exhibition zones have been added: public health and epidemic prevention, energy conservation and environmental protection, intelligent transport and sports items.

"Xiamen enterprises are actively participating in this year's expo, demonstrating their willingness to be involved in the global market," said Lin Zhenya, deputy director of the Xiamen bureau of commerce.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, Xiamen has focused on promoting the resumption of business activities and recovery of industries. An array of targeted policies was rolled out to boost companies' confidence, helping Xiamen's foreign trade buck the downward trend in the first three quarters of the year, according to Lin.

Relying on the business opportunities provided by CIIE, Xiamen groups will hold a number of matchmaking activities during the expo, in order to promote the city's development of cross-border e-commerce and attract investment.