The Beijing Hospital has signed tentative agreements to buy medical equipment worth over 20 million yuan (2.9 million U.S. dollars) at the first China International Import Expo, which is being held this week in Shanghai.

Beijing Hospital Vice President Xu Feng said at the signing of the agreement that the import expo has provided hospitals with good opportunities to shop for all kinds of medical equipment in the one place, as their buyers usually need to made visits to individual suppliers.

A da Vinci robotic surgical system on display at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. [Photo: China Plus]

Xu Feng said they're also making use of the opportunity provided by the expo to check out the latest medical technology from around the world to help ensure that their hospital stays at the forefront of medical science. And he said that he's already keen to attend the expo again next year.

Beijing Hospital Vice President Xu Feng (L) signs a tentative agreement with a representative of Philips to buy medical equipment from the Dutch company at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. [Photo: China Plus]

Beijing Hospital is one of around 160,000 buyers from over 80,000 domestic and overseas companies at the import expo. It's only the second day of the five-day event, and the participants have already witnessed the signing of a string of new agreements. Official figures on the total value of the contracts signed during the expo are expected to be released at the closing of the event.