U.S. companies will top the exhibition area at the ninth China International Import Expo (CIIE) for the eighth time, with their area up 1,500 square meters from last year, an official said on Friday.

The ninth CIIE will be held in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10. Launched in 2018 as the world's first national-level expo dedicated to imports, the CIIE was designed to expand China's opening up and turn its vast market into a shared opportunity for the world.

Preparations for the ninth CIIE are basically complete. A total of 162 countries, regions and international organizations will take part, with 4,142 overseas companies exhibiting, China's Vice Minister of Commerce Yan Dong told a press conference.

The overall exhibition area will exceed 440,000 square meters for the first time. In the enterprise exhibition, companies from the United States, Germany, Britain and France will lead the pack in terms of exhibition space.