CIIE Shanghai, an import expo that is not Canton
CIIE Shanghai (China International Import Expo) usually runs 5–10 November at the National Exhibition and Convention Center. It is built for selling into China. Buyers mix it up with Canton Fair. Canton is Chinese export. CIIE is the world selling in. Papillon does not book it as a first sourcing trip.
Read the week honestly
5–10 Nov
Typical window
Confirm the year. The season is early November, after autumn Canton starts to close.
Import
What the halls are
Countries and brands selling into China. The aisle is not a Chinese factory list.
Export
What they are not
A sourcing short list does not start here. The wrong fair costs the week and the ticket.
A meeting can still fit
- You already have a Shanghai plant or a port move.
- The counterpart is exhibiting, and the meeting is booked.
- The topic is industrial, not a mixed carton.
- CIIE is an extra day, not the reason you flew.
Do not fly for this
- This is your first sourcing trip.
- You want factories that export to you.
- You hoped it was Canton in another city.
- You need small goods, furniture, or a low MOQ.
How Papillon decides
We ask what you are buying. If the answer is goods leaving China, this is not the hall.
Name the direction
Into China, or out of China. CIIE is the first. Your warehouse is the second.
If it is out, switch fairs
One Canton phase, Yiwu, Hong Kong Electronics, or Global Sources. The calendar says which month.
If you are already in Shanghai
A booked meeting at NECC can sit beside a port or a plant day. It does not replace the plant.
Do not deposit from the aisle
Even a useful meeting ends in a sample and a landed cost, not in a badge and a card.
Import into China, said plainly
The expo exists so foreign companies can sell to Chinese buyers. National pavilions, consumer brands, machines, food, medical. That is a real commercial event. It is a different job from finding a factory that will make your order.
Walking it with a sourcing brief is how a week disappears. The people on the stand are not quoting your MOQ for export. They are selling in.
When we still go
You are already in Shanghai for a plant, a port, or a partner who has a booth and a meeting on the books. Then CIIE is an hour in the building, not the itinerary.
Industrial equipment and a counterpart you must see in person can justify the badge. A hunt for LCL small goods cannot. We will not dress the second one up as the first.
Shanghai without this ticket
The city is a port and an industrial belt whether or not you hold a CIIE pass. Factories, consolidation and the river ports do not live inside NECC.
If Shanghai is the right city for the goods, we plan the plants and the freight. The expo is optional. Most Papillon trips never need it.
The fair to book instead
One Canton phase that matches the category. Yiwu when the goods are small and mixed. Hong Kong Electronics or Global Sources when the work is OEM. CHTF when the product is a device and you want Shenzhen the same week.
Those rows, with dates, are on China trade fairs 2026. Canton Fair 2026 is the usual replacement for a CIIE plan that was actually a sourcing plan.
What we will not pretend
We will not call CIIE a sourcing fair to fill a November slot. A client who needs goods in their warehouse gets a different hall, or no hall, and a factory visit.
If you are selling into China and the meeting is real, say that. The trip is then a different service from sourcing. The badge does not change which one you bought.
Frequently asked questions
No. Start with one Canton phase or with Yiwu, then a factory visit. CIIE is the wrong first ticket.
No. Canton Fair is Chinese export, in Guangzhou, in phases. CIIE is import into China, in Shanghai, in early November.
Typically 5–10 November at NECC. Confirm the year. Do not borrow the date from an old page.
Only if a meeting is booked. The port and the plants do not require the expo badge.
Next step
Send the request: category, quantity, and date. You get a reply within 24 hours, with an outline of the total cost to destination where we can price it.