The mass signing ceremony for the state-owned-assets sub-group of the Shanghai Trade Group – a major trading operation – took place at the sixth China International Import Expo, or CIIE on Nov 7 in East China's Shanghai.

During the ceremony, 22 projects were signed by 11 State-owned enterprises, including the Shanghai Lingang Economic Development Group, SAIC Group, Bright Food Group and Greenland Group.

The projects span various sectors – such as smart manufacturing, green and low-carbon initiatives, fashionable consumer goods, industrial software and biopharmaceuticals – with a combined investment of 3.36 billion yuan ($460.64 million).

Representatives from both Chinese and foreign business communities exchanged contact information before the signing ceremony. [Photo by Dong Tianye]

According to the Shanghai Municipal State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the sub-group's commitment to procurement has resulted in 110 intended procurement orders with a total value of $2.71 billion.

This reflected a consistent upward trend in both the number of orders and their amounts.

Statistics also indicated that the sub-group has steadily increased its share of imports in high-end intelligent equipment and biopharmaceuticals for three consecutive years, now accounting for 61 percent of the total import value.