The fifth Maritime Silk Road Brands Expo is slated to open in Shishi of Quanzhou, in East China’s Fujian province, on April 18. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The fifth Maritime Silk Road Brands Expo is slated to open in Shishi of Quanzhou, in East China's Fujian province on April 18.

This year's exhibition will cover an area of 26,000 square meters, with 700 booths.

To date, 362 companies from over 40 countries and regions including France, South Korea, Italy, Japan, Australia, Russia, Indonesia, Mongolia, India and Pakistan, have confirmed their participation.

Quanzhou is one of the three economically strong cities in Fujian, the other two being Fuzhou and Xiamen.

In 2018, the city's gross domestic product was 845.8 billion yuan ($126 billion), the highest among cities in Fujian for the 20th consecutive year.

The trade volume between Quanzhou and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road countries and regions reached 91.1 billion yuan last year. Exports from Shishi, a county-level city in Quanzhou, were sent to 168 countries and regions of six continents.

The Expo is organized by the China Chamber of International Commerce, and supported by such organizations as the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the World Trade Center Association.