BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The media registration system for the upcoming China International Import Expo (CIIE) was launched on Wednesday as preparations for the event are proceeding smoothly.

Registration will be open until September 15 and media services can register online at media.ciie.org, according to the CIIE news center.

Further information for journalist approvals will be released on www.ciie.org.

The CIIE will be held in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10. So far, more than 160,000 agents from over 80,000 businesses have registered to attend the expo.

China has been the world's second largest importer of goods for nine consecutive years and made up 10.2 percent of global imports last year. Chinese authorities expect the country to import goods worth 24 trillion U.S. dollars in the next 15 years.

As an upgrading consumption sector reshapes China's economic and trade structure, the CIIE is expected to give new impetus to such a transition and make China's market more accessible than ever.