5th CICPE to set new record in exhibition scale: official

With over 4,100 brands from 71 countries and regions having confirmed their participation, the upcoming 5th China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE), scheduled for mid-April in the southern island province of Hainan, is set to become the largest edition to date in terms of exhibition scale, according to Sheng Qiuping, China's Vice Commerce Minister.

Since its inaugural edition in 2021, the expo has seen growing global influence and international recognition, evolving into the largest premium consumer goods exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region and gradually becoming a shining hallmark of the Hainan Free Trade Port, Sheng told a press conference in Beijing.

"The 5th CICPE is scheduled to take place in Hainan Province from April 13 to 18. As China's first major international exhibition of the year and the country's only state-level expo dedicated to consumption, the event holds significant importance in boosting consumption, promoting high-quality development, and advancing high-level opening-up," Sheng said.

With its preparations nearing completion, the fifth edition of CICPE will feature expanded international participation.

"Over 4,100 brands from 71 countries and regions have confirmed their participation so far, including 65 Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders, both exceeding last year's numbers. The United Kingdom will serve as the guest country of honor, with an exhibition area of over 1,300 square meters and 53 participating brands, nearly double the size of the previous edition," said the vice minister.

Sheng said this year's expo will showcase more premium and innovative products, including the latest humanoid robots from both home and abroad.

"This year's expo will highlight emerging consumer trends, including global top-notch products, trendy domestic brands, green consumption, smart consumption, debut economy, and the low-altitude economy, attracting premium consumer brands worldwide to actively participate. It will focus on cutting-edge technologies, such as intelligent connected new energy vehicles, AI-powered smartphones and computers, smart robots, whole-house smart home solutions, and wearable smart devices. In addition, the exhibition will display eVTOL aircraft, logistics drones, and other novel products and technologies," said Sheng.

5th CICPE to set new record in exhibition scale: official

5th CICPE to feature latest consumption trends, cutting-edge products

China's domestically developed C919 large passenger aircraft began flight transport service on two new routes on Sunday.

At 11:19 on Sunday, a C919 aircraft smoothly landed at the Shenyang Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang City, the capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, from Shanghai in east China some 1,000 kilometers away, marking the C919's first commercial flight in northeast China. The airport celebrated the occasion with a water salute.

"The seats are very spacious, and the flight experience is excellent," said a passenger.

"Flying on a homegrown plane feels especially smooth. I took the inaugural C919 flight to Chengdu, and unexpectedly, within a year, more than a dozen routes have been launched. I think the airline operations in our country are particularly impressive," said another passenger.

The other new air route opened on the day for the C919 is the one from northwest China's Xi'an City to south China's Guangzhou City about 1,400 kilometers away.

The Xi'an-Guangzhou service became the third domestic air route operated from Xi'an to use the C919, following China Eastern Airlines' earlier introduction of this aircraft on its Xi'an-Beijing and Xi'an-Shanghai routes. This also means that the Xianyang International Airport in Xi'an has become a major airport in China in terms of flights performed by the C919.

Notably, China Eastern Airlines in January 2025 started using the C919 jetliner for regular flights between Shanghai in east China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the country's south -- which is the airline's first scheduled commercial flight service to Hong Kong using the C919.

The C919 is a narrow-body passenger aircraft with a maximum capacity of 192 seats. It is China's first self-developed trunk jetliner, built in accordance with international airworthiness standards and featuring independently registered intellectual property rights.

China initiated the C919 project in 2007, and it was developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC). The first C919 aircraft rolled off the production line in Shanghai in November 2015.

China's homegrown C919 aircraft begins to serve two new domestic air routes