The CIIE is an annual event that focuses on imports and is the first of its kind. This year's exhibition covered 366,000 square meters, an increase of 6,000 square meters year-on-year.

"In the context of world economic recovery, the significance of the CIIE goes far beyond buying a certain amount of foreign goods and services," said Aaron Tang, president of Karcher China, a German company that makes and sells cleaning equipment.

"As a major platform for international procurements, investment promotion, cultural exchanges and open cooperation, the CIIE is a creative example that shows how China is exploring more efficient ways to connect domestic and foreign markets and is sharing factors of production and resources with the world," Tang said.

In a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the fourth CIIE, President Xi Jinping stressed that China will firmly safeguard true multilateralism. The country will also firmly share market opportunities with the rest of the world, promote high-standard opening-up, and uphold the common interests of the world, Xi said.

"The strong growth of China's economy and its further opening-up undoubtedly help boost the recovery of the global economy and trade," said Zhao Yao, president of Omron Healthcare China, a large Japanese medical technology company.

"The rapid growth of China's trade has produced a strong spillover effect in the world, and its continuously deepening reform and opening-up policy will enable China's economy to maintain a long-term positive trend and thus make a contribution to global economic growth," Zhao said.

This year's exhibition was attended by 281 Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders, with 40 joining the CIIE for the first time and 120 taking part in the exhibition for the fourth consecutive year.

The number of companies from the United States also reached a record high compared with the previous three events.

Joe Bao, president of Microsoft China, said, "Microsoft Corp's new and innovative technology solutions and applications at the CIIE paved the way for what we have planned for the market in the future."

The US technology conglomerate has been participating in the event for four years. This year, it showcased its digital products in intelligent manufacturing, retail and healthcare.

"Investing in innovations is what Microsoft has been committed to in the Chinese market, so as to promote joint digital advances with our partners and help bring China's homegrown innovations to the world," Bao said.

This year also marked the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the World Trade Organization. Officials said that since joining the WTO in 2001, China has made vigorous efforts to align with and abide by the organization's rules and open its market.

In the first three quarters of this year, China's imports totaled nearly $2 trillion, up 32.6 percent year-on-year, setting a record.

In the first half of the year, the country's international market share in imports increased by 0.7 percentage point year-on-year to 12 percent, contributing 15 percent of the global import increment, according to the World Trade Organization.

At this year's event, a great many Chinese companies inked strategic deals with foreign exhibitors. The State Development and Investment Corp, for instance, signed import contracts with 19 foreign companies for a record total of $1 billion.

The company purchased commodities including barley, cotton, manganese ore and edible oils from 15 economies including Ukraine, Argentina, Russia, Benin and Uruguay.