THE preparatory work for the 2018 China International Import Expo has shifted focus to organizing the exhibition instead of attracting participants.

A channel has opened on the official website of the import expo for online registration for trading groups to further accelerate the formation of local purchasing groups of provinces, cities and autonomous regions.

The state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission has set up a state-owned enterprise trading group and central SOEs have formed sub-groups, with 98 of them becoming the first batch of purchasers.