200 Days to Go, Over 50% of Booths Booked – Why Is ISL Expo So Popular?
Today (October 4, 2025), there are 200 days left until the opening of the 4th International Supply Chain Logistics Exposition (ISL Expo 2026) in Shanghai, and all preparatory work for the expo is progressing steadily.
Just last month (September), the Executive Meeting of the State Council once again emphasized the need to improve the construction of overseas comprehensive service systems, providing strong support including logistics resources for enterprises going global to participate in international cooperation and competition. In addition, the Ministry of Transport and other authorities issued the "Action Plan for Promoting In-depth Integration of Container Railway-Water Intermodal Transport by 'One Port, One Policy' (2025-2027)", which vigorously advances the in-depth integration of container railway-water intermodal transport to better serve trade demands. The positioning of the International Supply Chain Logistics Exposition (ISL Expo) – "Gathering Port, Shipping, Railway, and Aviation Sectors; Connecting Foreign Trade Cargo Owners" – is highly aligned with the above requirements.
To help more upstream and downstream enterprises in the international supply chain logistics sector seize business opportunities and achieve win-win cooperation, Chen Hongbing, Executive Director of the ISL Expo Organizing Committee and Editor-in-Chief of China Shipping Gazette (CSG), provided a detailed introduction to the highlights and preparation progress of this year’s expo.
Chen Hongbing, Executive Director of the ISL Expo Organizing Committee and Editor-in-Chief of China Shipping Gazette (CSG)
Q: ISL Expo has been held for three sessions – has the original intention of launching the expo been realized? What changes will be made to the overall goals of the 4th expo?
Chen Hongbing: Since its launch in 2023, ISL Expo has been committed to building a win-win cooperation platform for all parties with logistics service capabilities and logistics needs. The three successfully held expos have been recognized by a wide range of customers and gained a certain reputation and influence in the industry. Based on the achievement of "successfully holding" the expo in the first three sessions, the focus of the 4th session and beyond will shift to "holding a high-quality" expo.
The positioning of ISL Expo – "Gathering Port, Shipping, Railway, and Aviation Sectors; Connecting Foreign Trade Cargo Owners" – is closely linked to national policies. At the end of 2024, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Action Plan for Effectively Reducing Logistics Costs Across the Society", requiring "strengthening the integrated innovation of manufacturing supply chains and encouraging large manufacturing enterprises to establish long-term strategic cooperation with logistics enterprises". The Ministry of Commerce also issued the "Several Policy Measures for Promoting the Stable Growth of Foreign Trade", demanding "enhancing the support capacity of foreign trade maritime transportation" and "supporting foreign trade enterprises to strengthen strategic cooperation with shipping enterprises". Both documents reflect the government’s support and encouragement for the integration of the manufacturing and logistics industries, which also serves as a policy guide for us to continue holding high-quality expos.
With the transformation from "Chinese products going global" to "Chinese manufacturing going global", the international logistics needs of manufacturing enterprises have expanded from single finished-product logistics to full-cycle logistics covering the production and manufacturing links, placing higher requirements on the timeliness and stability of transportation. As a result, "Chinese cargo owners" – as an important force in the global freight market – are bound to rise. The original model of domestic freight forwarding and logistics enterprises seeking "cargo" overseas will gradually shift to a model where global logistics enterprises come to China to seek "cargo".
This will inevitably drive the "going global of Chinese logistics", promoting the layout of overseas networks and international cooperation. At the same time, traditional logistics enterprises relying on single resources must transform into international supply chain logistics enterprises capable of integrating various capacity resources. Furthermore, while improving service quality and efficiency, international logistics enterprises must also reduce costs; otherwise, they cannot survive in the highly competitive market. This tests whether enterprises can grasp the technological dividends of the digital, intelligent, and artificial intelligence era.

Highlights of Previous Expos
ISL Expo has closely addressed the above needs. In the first three sessions, the expo has attracted over 500 high-quality exhibitors (including enterprises with various capacity resources such as port, shipping, railway, aviation, and road express, as well as logistics digital intelligence and artificial intelligence enterprises), more than 6,000 logistics directors from key export manufacturing enterprises, and over 30,000 logistics professionals to participate. It has also established an international logistics enterprise database with more than 200,000 pieces of information. In terms of exhibition area, the exhibitor renewal rate increased from 51.98% in the 2nd session to 73.67% in the 3rd session, demonstrating the recognition of the expo’s commercial value by all parties.
With the successful business model established in the past three sessions, we are confident that the 4th expo – to be held in Shanghai from April 22 to 24, 2026 – will see the total exhibition area increase by 50% to 20,000 square meters, the number of professional visitors rise to 25,000, and the number of foreign trade cargo owners reach 3,000.
Q: What highlights of the 4th expo are worth the attention of exhibitors and professional visitors?
Chen Hongbing: The 4th expo has four main highlights.
First, more abundant activities for foreign trade cargo owners.
The most distinctive feature of ISL Expo is connecting foreign trade cargo owner enterprises with international supply chain logistics enterprises, and building a "logistics expo with the largest number of foreign trade cargo owner buyers". On the basis of successfully holding 11 industry-specific cargo owner forums in the 3rd session, the 4th expo will expand the number of cargo owner forums to 15 industries, with more than 20 cargo owner-related activities. In the next 3-5 years, we will gradually expand the coverage of concurrent cargo owner forums to 30 popular industries, making ISL Expo an absolute leader in building a docking platform for international logistics service providers and demanders.

Some Cargo Owner Forums of Previous Expos
Inauguration and First Plenary Meeting of the "China Foreign Trade Cargo Owners Salon"
At the same time, relying on two platforms established in May 2025 – the "China Foreign Trade Cargo Owners Salon" and the "Joint Meeting on Resilient Development of International Supply Chain Logistics" – we will provide value-added services including standard research and development and high-end training, further enhancing the attractiveness and cohesion of ISL Expo to foreign trade cargo owners.
Second, a higher level of internationalization.
Starting from the 4th session in 2026, ISL Expo has been fixed to be held in late April every year in Shanghai. As an international trade center and international shipping center, Shanghai has positioned the expo to "base itself in Shanghai and look to the world" since its inception. The first three sessions also saw the participation of international exhibitors and visitors.


International Exhibitors and Visitors Participating in the Expo
During the preparation for the 4th expo, the organizing committee will strengthen the promotion of the expo globally. This includes participating in the 2025 FIATA World Congress to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam, and setting up a booth to communicate with international supply chain logistics enterprises and industry associations from around the world. Meanwhile, based on cooperation with port, shipping, logistics, and multimodal transport enterprises in Europe, the Middle East, and other regions, the organizing committee also plans to promote the expo in key neighboring countries such as Thailand and Japan. In addition, the expo has launched multiple overseas social media accounts to regularly release expo-related news and preparation progress, attracting more international enterprises to participate.
Our goal is that in the 4th expo, the exhibition area of overseas enterprises will account for 10% of the total, and the number of overseas visitors will reach 5% of the total.
Third, simultaneous improvement in the quality and quantity of exhibitors.
To further improve the quality and quantity of exhibitors, the organizing committee has recently conducted in-depth communications with a number of enterprises, introducing the preparation progress of the new expo. These enterprises include: shipping enterprises such as COSCO Shipping Lines, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Maersk, Ocean Network Express (ONE), Evergreen Marine, Yang Ming Marine Transport, Pacific International Lines (PIL), COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers, Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), Wan Hai Lines, Regional Container Lines (RCL), and Pan-Asia Shipping; port enterprises such as Shanghai Port, COSCO Shipping Ports, China Merchants Ports, Guangzhou Port, Qingdao Port, Lianyungang Port, Shenzhen Port, and Liaoning Port Group; railway enterprises such as CRRC Special Cargo, CRCT Container Transport Co., Ltd., CRE Express, China Railway Shanghai Group, and China Railway Guangzhou Group; air logistics enterprises such as China Southern Airlines Logistics and Guangdong Airport Logistics; express enterprises such as SF Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express; and international freight forwarding and technology enterprises such as Kerry Logistics, Ningbo International Logistics, Dasheng Logistics, Global Express, Meisheng International, Tianjin Youtong, KWE Logistics, Shenzhen Zhonghao, Shenzhen Yuehai, Guangzhou Bahali, Qingdao Rongshengda, Yida Technology, Haiguanjia, and Heyifu. All these enterprises have expressed continuous attention to and recognition of the expo.
It is worth noting that member units of the "China New Liner CEO Club" – including SITC Container Lines, Sinotrans Container Lines, Shanghai Jinjiang Shipping, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, Hede Shipping, Haiyetong Shipping, Xin Xinyun Shipping, and Jiahua Shipping – have also expressed continuous support for and confidence in the expo.
2nd Annual Meeting of the "China New Liner CEO Club"
Up to now, with 200 days left until the 4th expo, the area of booked booths has accounted for more than 50% of the total exhibition area – a significant improvement compared with the same period of the previous expo.
Fourth, optimization and innovation in the organization of professional visitors.
In terms of organizing professional visitors, the organizing committee will give full play to the role of its professional database to invite target audiences in a targeted manner. Currently, the database has more than 200,000 records, and we will continue to enrich and optimize the quantity and quality of database information to invite professional visitors more accurately. Meanwhile, on the basis of subsidizing cargo owner forums in previous sessions, we will provide subsidy support for logistics conferences held concurrently with the expo for the first time. We welcome more logistics enterprises, industry associations, and institutions to host conferences during the expo – the organizer will provide free conference services and promotion support, and include the events in the overall conference catalog of the expo.
Notably, in response to the current popularity of short video platforms, during this expo, we will hold an "International Logistics Short Video Competition", host a "Seminar on Short Videos Promoting Customer Acquisition for International Logistics Enterprises", set up a live broadcast area for short video creators, and organize fan meetings for short video creators. We will fully embrace short video media to further enhance the communication effect of the expo.
Q: What benefits can ISL Expo ultimately bring to exhibitors and professional visitors?
Chen Hongbing: As a high-quality and distinctive expo in the industry, ISL Expo has always adhered to the principles of efficiency and pragmatism, helping international logistics service providers and demanders achieve effective docking.

ISL Expo Helps Achieve Effective Docking Between International Logistics Service Providers and Demanders
A large number of high-quality cargo owner enterprises and experts/scholars in the international supply chain logistics industry will gather at the rich concurrent activities such as cargo owner forums and logistics forums. Participating logistics enterprises can quickly expand their direct customer resources among cargo owners, negotiate cooperation with peers attending the expo, and communicate face-to-face with industry experts to obtain the most authoritative market analysis and judgment.
Various Training Activities Held Concurrently with the Expo
In addition, professional visitors can quickly find high-quality partners in various fields of international supply chain logistics through the expo. At the same time, multiple thematic training lectures will be held during the expo, covering practical topics such as enterprise leadership, supply chain management, sales skills, and how to expand customer acquisition channels. Professional visitors can take this opportunity to improve their personal capabilities and become industry elites.
Guests with different identities will wear badges with lanyards of different colors, facilitating quick identity recognition and on-site transactions.
Finally, we welcome upstream and downstream enterprises and professionals in the international supply chain logistics sector to participate in and visit the expo. We look forward to meeting you at the Shanghai Convention & Exhibition Center of International Sourcing (SHCEC), China from April 22 to 24, 2026.
Contact:
Mr. Li
Tel:+86-17321195082
E-mail:overseas@isea-global.com