With just three days to go before the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) opens its doors, organisers announced on November 2 that all exhibition halls, customs counters and immigration support stations at Shanghai’s National Exhibition and Convention Center are fully operational. This year’s show boasts 430,000 m² of floor space and more than 4,100 exhibitors—both all-time highs—prompting the municipal public-security bureau to refine its visitor-handling blueprint.
Key to the upgrade is a 35-zone ‘comprehensive service hub’ inside the venue offering on-site consulting for customs procedures, commercial law, IP protection and, notably, entry-exit and visa policy. Foreign exhibitors arriving through Pudong or Hongqiao airports can, for the first time, present an electronic port visa confirmation letter and pass through a paper-less channel co-developed by the National Immigration Administration and local police. Officials say the e-visa trial—previously limited to government-invited delegations—has been expanded to cover any overseas participant whose Shanghai counterpart files online at least 72 hours before arrival.
![CIIE Organisers Set Up ‘Fast-Lane’ Entry-Exit Services as Shanghai Prepares for Record-Setting Import Expo]()
The initiative reflects China’s broader effort to reboot inbound business travel after three years of pandemic disruptions. In 2024, visa-free or visa-on-arrival entries accounted for over 70 percent of foreign visits, but trade-fair delegates complained of bottlenecks when hundreds of charter flights landed within a narrow window. The new arrangement lets companies stagger arrivals and reduces the need for costly pre-event couriering of travel documents.
Beyond immigration facilitation, CIIE will deploy some 3,000 multilingual volunteers and has installed self-service kiosks to register temporary work permits for foreign booth staff who need to handle taxable sales on site. Multinationals such as Siemens, L’Oréal and Honeywell told reporters they received confirmation of staff e-permits in less than 15 minutes—a process that previously took half a day.
For corporate mobility managers, the lesson is to coordinate closely with Chinese partners: submitting exhibitor lists early unlocks fast-track immigration desks and smoothens hand-carry logistics. Travel suppliers also expect a surge in last-minute demand for hotel rooms and intercity rail tickets as visitors combine the expo with side trips to suppliers in the Yangtze River Delta.
Key to the upgrade is a 35-zone ‘comprehensive service hub’ inside the venue offering on-site consulting for customs procedures, commercial law, IP protection and, notably, entry-exit and visa policy. Foreign exhibitors arriving through Pudong or Hongqiao airports can, for the first time, present an electronic port visa confirmation letter and pass through a paper-less channel co-developed by the National Immigration Administration and local police. Officials say the e-visa trial—previously limited to government-invited delegations—has been expanded to cover any overseas participant whose Shanghai counterpart files online at least 72 hours before arrival.
The initiative reflects China’s broader effort to reboot inbound business travel after three years of pandemic disruptions. In 2024, visa-free or visa-on-arrival entries accounted for over 70 percent of foreign visits, but trade-fair delegates complained of bottlenecks when hundreds of charter flights landed within a narrow window. The new arrangement lets companies stagger arrivals and reduces the need for costly pre-event couriering of travel documents.
Beyond immigration facilitation, CIIE will deploy some 3,000 multilingual volunteers and has installed self-service kiosks to register temporary work permits for foreign booth staff who need to handle taxable sales on site. Multinationals such as Siemens, L’Oréal and Honeywell told reporters they received confirmation of staff e-permits in less than 15 minutes—a process that previously took half a day.
For corporate mobility managers, the lesson is to coordinate closely with Chinese partners: submitting exhibitor lists early unlocks fast-track immigration desks and smoothens hand-carry logistics. Travel suppliers also expect a surge in last-minute demand for hotel rooms and intercity rail tickets as visitors combine the expo with side trips to suppliers in the Yangtze River Delta.
