Premier Li Qiang is expected to promote free trade, encourage foreign investment, soothe concerns about the country’s slowing economy and highlight a trade deal with the US in a keynote speech as the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) opens on Wednesday.

Li will for the third consecutive year address hundreds of government officials, business leaders and merchants from about 150 countries and regions to open the world’s largest import trade fair in Shanghai, Xinhua news agency announced on Monday.

According to three company officials involved in preparations, the premier will also visit pavilions set up by some American companies after the opening – sending a clear signal to US and global businesses that China’s vast consumer market remains an investment magnet amid a de-escalation of the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

The annual six-day trade show covers 430,000 square metres at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre and has attracted 4,108 companies from around the world, according to its organiser, the CIIE Bureau – a unit of the Ministry of Commerce.

“The trade show is not just an event for global businesses to display their products and services,” said Liu Liang, deputy director with Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences’ institute of applied economics, who is also an economic adviser to the local government. “We also expect to see innovative technologies, which will eventually provide a fresh boost to the new productive forces in Shanghai.”

A total of 33 conferences under the Hongqiao International Economic Forum will also be held as part of the CIIE’s schedule of events.