SHANGHAI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) concluded on Monday, having recorded 83.49 billion U.S. dollars in one-year intended deals -- up 4.4 percent from the previous edition and hitting a new high, according to the CIIE Bureau.

The expo's business exhibition covered an area of over 367,000 square meters, attracting 4,108 enterprises from 138 countries and regions -- breaking records for both scale and number of participants.

Among participants were 290 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders, and 180 enterprises have participated in all eight expos since the inaugural CIIE, said Wu Zhengping, deputy director-general of the CIIE Bureau.

The six-day event featured 461 new products, technologies and services, including 201 global debuts, 65 Asian premieres and 195 China launches, spanning industries such as biomedicine, technical equipment, and green and low-carbon technology.

The eighth CIIE arranged 43 trade delegations and over 700 sub-delegations, with registered attendees exceeding 460,000, a 7 percent year-on-year increase.

China has been the world's second-largest import market for 16 consecutive years, with its goods and services imports during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) set to top 15 trillion U.S. dollars, according to Vice Commerce Minister Sheng Qiuping.

Launched in 2018 as the world's first national-level expo dedicated to imports, the CIIE was designed to expand China's opening-up and turn its vast market into a shared opportunity for the world. Preparations for the ninth CIIE are now in full swing, with over 80,000 square meters of its designated business exhibition space already booked.