(Yicai Global) March 5 -- The first China International Import Expo will open in Shanghai in November. Uzbekistan, an important nation alongside the Silk Road Economic Belt in Central Asia, will actively participate in the trade fair. Uzbekistan's chamber of industry and commerce has already booked a 1,000-square-kilometer booth. Uzbek companies are eager to explore the Chinese market and will display their competitive products such as fruits, vegetables, dried fruit and textiles, said Ikramov Adkham Ilkhamovich, the chamber's chairman.

China and Uzbekistan have witnessed rapid bilateral economic and trade cooperation in recent years. China has surpassed Russia for two years in a row to become its largest trade partner, per Uzbek government statistics.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed his support for the China International Import Expo during his visit to China to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in May last year. He also stressed the significant meaning of the Belt and Road initiative, such as the construction of trans-national railways to Central Asian countries to develop their international economies and trade.

Thousands of companies from over 120 countries and regions have signed up for the Expo, and nearly 200 firms from over 50 countries and regions have already penned contracts to rent a total area of 50,000 square meters, data shows.