A ceremony marking the 200-day countdown of the third CIIE is held in Shanghai on April 18, 2020. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Preparations for the third China International Import Expo (CIIE) are gaining momentum as the expo started its 200-day countdown on Saturday with the release of a promotional video.

While addressing the ceremony, Sun Chenghai, deputy director of the CIIE Bureau, said that the promotion and preparation efforts for the third edition have not been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

"The third CIIE extends a warm welcome to all exhibitors and buyers across the globe to participate in the expo and seize the opportunities for international trade and investment, people-to-people exchanges, opening-up and cooperation," Sun said.

Michiaki Oguri, president of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Shanghai, pledged that the organization, which is an important platform for developing Sino-Japanese economic and trade relations, will play an active role in this year's expo.

JETRO will gather Japanese SMEs in sectors such as Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products, Food and Agricultural Products and Consumer Goods this year, he added.

Honeywell International, a US manufacturing and technology conglomerate, will display their advanced technologies and personal protective equipment this year. The company will be taking part in the CIIE for the third time this year.

CIIE provides a great platform for global companies like Honeywell to deepen business cooperation with China, said Scott Zhang, president of Honeywell China.

As of early April, more than 1,000 companies have signed up for the third edition of the expo this year, with nearly 60 percent of the planned exhibition space already booked.

A public health and epidemic prevention exhibition area will be introduced to this year's event.