Although the China International Import Expo is still underway, Han Li, vice president of Fonterra China, has already booked a 240-square-meter exhibition area for next year's edition.

This is the first time that Han gets to choose the location of the booth. For the past three years, the company had to set up its booth in an area assigned by the expo organizers.

"I have already surveyed the area. It's near the main hallway and big enough for our product display and event space," she said. "The CIIE has indeed boosted our sales. Many of the products exhibited here became bestsellers later."

The New Zealand dairy company is not the only one to sign up early for next year's expo. More than half of the planned 10,000-square-meter exhibition area has already been booked since the reservation process started on Sept 28, according to Ying Jian, the person responsible for the food and agricultural products exhibition.

The CIIE Bureau has put up a board in the reservation office showing companies that have already signed contracts for the 2021 expo, which includes diary companies such as Mille, Ausnutria, Yashily and Saputo.