This month will be an extraordinary one as far as efforts go to push ahead with economic reforms. Today China lowered the tariff rate on 1,585 types of imported industrial products.

This is part of a larger tax reduction measure that saw a reduction in tariffs on 1,449 items starting on July 1. The effect of these measures has been for China’s total tariff level to drop from 9.8 to 7.5 percent since last year, and for the corporate and consumer tax burden to be reduced by nearly 60 billion yuan.

The first round of tariff cuts came on the heels of the announcements by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Boao Forum for Asia in April about new reform policies, which were launched in quick succession.

These range from the abolition or relaxation of restrictions on foreign ownership ratios in China’s banking, securities, insurance, and automotive industries, reducing the number of industries on the negative list of foreign investment access from 63 to 48, and restructuring the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) to enable centralized management of intellectual property protection for things like patents and trademarks. These actions show that the door to China’s market is opening wider and wider.

On Monday, the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) will open in Shanghai. By then, more than 3,000 companies from over 130 countries will have gathered to showcase their national brands and expand their markets as they meet the diverse needs of China’s consumers. More than 5,000 exhibits will be on display in China for the first time, from participants including G20 members, BRICS and SCO countries, more than 50 countries along the Belt and Road, and more than 30 of the world’s least-developed countries.

And over 100 new products and technologies will be unveiled at the event, which will provide an unrivaled opportunity for buyers to gain an understanding of the opportunities on offer in China’s consumer market.