A rendering of a vehicle import exhibition in Building B at the Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trade Center [Photo/Shanghai Observer]
Building B at the Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trade Center is scheduled to be topped off by the end of this year and start operations before the sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in 2023, according to Li Li, general manager of the center's developer Shanghai Nanhongqiao Investment and Development (Group) Co.
Building B is designed to be a high-end imported car hub that focuses on exhibitions and management, new cars releases, the supply chain, new cars deliveries, and a drivers' club.
The first phase of the Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trade Center opened in 2019 and has gathered more than 20,000 kinds of commodities from over 2,000 brands in 90 countries and regions around the world, and over 70 percent of which have a connection with the CIIE.
Building A was part of the project's second phase and was put into use during the fourth CIIE in 2021. It serves as a platform for bonded exhibitions, commodity transactions, information releases and pricing.
The center has also opened 16 branches in the Yangtze River Delta region and across the country to expand the spillover effect of the CIIE, offering more choices for Chinese consumers.
In early November, Orient International (Holding) Co set up its trade headquarters in the Hongqiao International Central Business District and announced that its trade arm will work with the Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trade Center to upgrade and innovate its business mode and services to build a national-level import trade demonstration zone.
