Over 200 yachts! The 6th China International Consumer Products Expo will be held in Hainan from April 13 to 18.

On March 30, the State Council Information Office held a press conference, held a press conference. A reporter from Upstream News learned at the scene that the 6th CIIE (China International Consumer Goods Expo) will be held in Hainan from April 13 to 18 this year. This year’s expo is both the “first show” of major national exhibitions for the “14th Five-Year Plan” period kickoff year, and also the “first performance” after the full-island closure operation of Hainan Free Trade Port.

Press conference venue. Image source/CNIS

At the press conference, Deputy Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping said that the expo has become a “barometer” that leads the trend of upgrading consumption, a “bridgehead” for high-level opening-up to the outside world, and an “accelerator” for the development of Hainan Free Trade Port. Over the past five years, the expo has kept its focus on international consumption trends, continuously gathering high-quality global consumer resources, fashion brands from around the world, and industry-leading enterprises. A total of more than 3,800 companies from 92 countries and regions, and over 12,000 brands, have participated. The number of Fortune 500 companies and industry leading enterprises participating increased from 30 in the first session to 65 in the fifth session. Over the past five years, the cumulative number of domestic and overseas purchasers exceeded 230,000 person-visits. Over the past five years, the expo has showcased Hainan Free Trade Port’s reform breakthroughs and fruitful achievements in an all-round, multi-angle, and three-dimensional way, demonstrating the vivid practices of steady progress in institutional opening-up, continuous optimization of the business environment, and ongoing upgrading of industrial capabilities. It has continuously helped transform exhibitors into investors and transformed traffic into incremental outcomes. As of now, more than 70 leading companies have settled in Hainan after taking part in the expo.

Sheng Qiuping said that compared with previous editions, this year’s expo tightly centers on “international,” bringing together world-renowned consumer brands and products. The expo will feature more than 3,400 brands from over 60 countries and regions. The share of international exhibits will be 65%, up 20 percentage points from last year. The host country, Canada, will build a 400-square-meter national pavilion, organize nearly 40 Canadian companies to participate, and showcase products ranging from cosmetics, agricultural products, and health products to pet food, while also planning a series of host-country activities such as “Maple Flavors & Sumptuous Delicacies—Canada Food Festival” and special supply-and-demand matching events. Twelve countries (regions), including Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Ireland, will organize official delegations to participate. Countries such as Russia and Bulgaria will set up national pavilions for the first time. Leveraging the advantages of running events across the whole island and the free-trade-port closure policy, this year the Boao Health Expo Area will have 120 international medical device and pharmaceutical companies participating. The participating yachts in the Sanya Yacht Expo area are expected to exceed 200 boats, with international brands accounting for 70%. “We will launch the ‘Shop in China’ international consumer season in sync with the CIIE, continue to build ‘Shop in China’ brands, and keep enhancing the expo’s ‘international vibe.’”

This year’s CIIE focuses on “high-quality products,” enriching high-quality consumer supply. Centered on new consumption categories such as green, healthy, digital, and intelligent products, this year’s CIIE will feature cutting-edge technology products such as intelligent connected vehicles, smart home appliances, and AI glasses. It will also add a pavilion showcasing Chinese brands going global. Porcelain, silk, traditional Chinese medicine, and cultural-and-creative exhibits from museums and heritage institutions will all come together to concentratively showcase the charm of homegrown brands. Time-honored Chinese enterprises will display their “in-store treasures” that carry on craftsmanship. Thirty-one provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities), the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and cities such as Shenzhen, Ningbo, Guangzhou, and Changchun will bring local premium consumer products and IP+ consumer creative products to participate.

This year’s CIIE highlights “first releases,” leading the trend in consumption. This year’s CIIE will make full efforts to build a global platform for first releases of premium consumer products. It will organize a series of global first releases, Asia-Pacific first exhibitions, and China debut events, so that more global good finds, frontier technologies, and innovative achievements will take the stage. It will help turn the CIIE into a “launching station” and “check-in destination” for global trendsetting lifestyles. For example, new split-type flying cars, intelligent robots, and smart cultural-and-sports/public transportation bus stops. This year’s CIIE will also continue to focus on innovative achievements in the medical and health sector and roll out premium medical and health new products “CIIE Baby,” which are created by leveraging the policy advantages of the free trade port. The host province, Shanghai, will release a series of international first-release premium brands, new Chinese-style beauty products, original design trend products, and Shanghai custom-made premium products.

According to Bartel, a member of the Standing Committee of the Hainan Provincial Party Committee and the acting vice governor, the exhibition area for this year’s CIIE has been expanded to 143,000 square meters, an increase of 13,000 square meters compared with the previous edition. For the first time, a procurement services center has been established, inviting about 65,000 professional purchasers from both China and overseas to attend, a 10% year-on-year increase. For the first time, a “incubation zone” for tourism retail brands has been established, and international participation and the richness of exhibits continue to improve.

In addition, this year’s CIIE will showcase opportunities in Hainan Free Trade Port. By leveraging policy advantages in Hainan Free Trade Port related to medical and health and yacht consumption, an international yacht sub-exhibition area will be set up in Sanya, and an international health sub-exhibition area will be set up in Boao Lecheng, innovating interactive showcases of new consumption scenarios and services such as health and culture and tourism. Meanwhile, during the CIIE, the 2026 Global Industrial Investment Promotion Conference for Hainan Free Trade Port will be held. It will focus on industrial fields such as biopharmaceuticals, the digital economy, deep-sea technology, and commercial aerospace, and plans 300 high-quality investment promotion projects.

Upstream News reporter Cui Tao