Greenland Global Commodity Trading Hub, established in November 2018 by Greenland Group, a real estate giant based in Shanghai, is a permanent trading platform for the China International Import Expo (CIIE), turning the exhibits at the expo into commodities and developing the six-day event into an all-year-round activity.

The trading hub, which is separated from CIIE’s venue – the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) – by a single street, combines multiple functions, with service offerings that include product exhibiting, trade facilitation, consumption guidance, as well as assistance in initiating investment invitation requests and carrying out investment incubation.

At the trading hub, consumers can buy products showcased at the 4th CIIE, which runs from Nov. 5 to 10, along with those featured at previous expos.

The trading hub launched 17 country pavilions last month, bringing the total number of country pavilions exhibited to 63 in all. To date, it has attracted 180 enterprises from 76 countries and regions.

For example, the Nepal pavilion showcases over 100 different kinds of products from the country, including Nepali women’s handmade products, such as woven bags and woolen scarves. In Nepal, women have also been provided with sewing and knitting training sessions to help them to improve their lives.

Shankar Koirala, a Nepali merchant at the trading hub, said the launch of the Nepal pavilion can help the Himalayan country to display its unique culture and expand sales channels for its products, while creating more employment opportunities for Nepali women.

Meanwhile, the trading hub has also become an important platform to expand the spillover effects generated by the CIIE. Products from over 800 exhibits at the fourth CIIE were put on the trading hub’s shelves in advance, including Alpaca scarves from the Peru pavilion, rum from the Cuba pavilion, and vodka from the Mongolia pavilion.

The trading hub’s CIIE bazaar located at Shanghai’s East Nanjing Road, one of the city’s famous shopping streets, is China’s first retail bazaar featuring products showcased at the CIIE. In the bazaar, daily sales surpassed 150,000 yuan (about $23,447) during this year’s National Day holiday, or the Golden Week holiday, which ran from Oct. 1 to 7.

The trading hub is also accelerating the launch of a CIIE bazaar at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport so as to introduce over 1,500 different kinds of high-quality imported goods from more than 20 countries.

Like the trading hub, the Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trading Center is another permanent trading platform to serve the CIIE. By 2025, 100 branches of the trading center are expected to be built.