Proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2017, the inaugural expo, the world's first import-themed national-level exhibition, was held in Shanghai in November last year. It was a great success in promoting trade and business, with the value of transactions and intended deals topping $57.8 billion.

The platform will help to increase and diversify China's imports, Ren said.

More than 3,000 companies from over 150 countries and regions will participate in the second CIIE, according to the event organizer. The 10 countries and regions with the biggest enterprise exhibition area are the United States, Japan, Germany, Hong Kong, South Korea, Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The event will also attract more than 500,000 buyers, including more than 7,000 from overseas, a significant increase from last year's 400,000 and 3,600, Ren said.

"Such an increase, especially that of international buyers, suggests CIIE's growing international appeal and influence," he said.

Besides the business exhibition, the expo also includes a country exhibition, where more than 60 countries will showcase their culture, products and achievements in economic development and trade. The Hongqiao International Economic Forum, which connects leaders from different industries, will also be held as part of the expo.

Ren said this year's forum will try to address the challenges facing world economic development by focusing on opening-up and innovation.

At an earlier briefing, the Ministry of Commerce confirmed that Xi will attend the expo again this year and deliver the opening keynote speech on Tuesday. The leaders of France, Greece, Jamaica and Serbia have also confirmed they will attend the event.