The recruitment of exhibitors for the fifth China International Import Expo kicked off on Tuesday with 26 companies inking participation agreements or memoranda of understanding with the CIIE Bureau.

The companies include big names such as agricultural products giant Cargill, cosmetics producer L'Oreal, tire maker Michelin, life science company Bayer and automaker Hyundai.

Six enterprises and organizations, from both home and abroad, including Oriental International, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone Group and Swiss China Center, signed long-term partnership agreements with the CIIE Bureau.

According to the companies that plan on taking part in the 2022 edition, the annual CIIE has enabled exhibits to become traded goods and exhibitors to identify more investment opportunities. The event connects global markets, promotes industrial development, boosts innovation and helps businesses better understand global trading rules. The trade platform is of great significance in helping foreign companies to reach more clients and share more dividends from China's development. Dun & Bradstreet, a global business decisioning data and analytics company, has confirmed its participation in the fifth CIIE.

This demonstrates the determination of Dun& Bradstreet to seize the CIIE opportunity and its firm commitment to the Chinese market, according to Wu Guangyu, managing director of Dun& Bradstreet China.

First attending the CIIE in 2020, Dun &Bradstreet has gained extensive benefits from the exhibition and communication platform. It developed strategic partnerships with an increasing number of governments and enterprises after the exhibition, according to the company.

Dun& Bradstreet will focus on displaying data analysis products and services designed for different use cases in the service trade exhibition area in upcoming expo, Wu said.

"Our solutions to be introduced at the fourth CIIE will support Chinese corporations and institutions to build, monitor and optimize their global supply chain by leveraging Dun& Bradstreet's big data and machine learning technology," Wu said.

This year, the company will expand its exhibition area to 145 square meters from 108 sq m last year. It will also showcase a series of data-driven global supply chain solutions, and launch its supply chain smart analyzer services.

Fonterra, a New Zealand dairy company, will attend the expo in 2022.

"We have signed up to the fifth expo. It is the fifth time for us to attend the international event," said Akshay Aggarwal, chief financial officer of Fonterra Greater China. "It allows us to bring more excellent dairy products from New Zealand to Chinese consumers."

"The CIIE is a great platform to build closer bonds with our partners and consumers. It will further drive our business in China," he said.

"China is our largest market, our fastest growing market, and our most strategically important market. We are confident in continuing to expand our business in China."