SHANGHAI, April 19 (Xinhua) -- More than 200 Fortune 500 companies have signed up for the second China International Import Expo (CIIE), according to the organizer.

A total of 20 out of the leading 30 companies in the medical equipment industry worldwide will attend the expo scheduled in November in Shanghai, according to Sun Chenghai, vice director of CIIE bureau.

"We are working on plans to extend the exhibition period of national pavilion of the second CIIE for about 10 days, as an answer to the overwhelming enthusiasm towards the CIIE of Chinese citizens," says Shang Yuying, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

Shanghai Customs is working on measures to support the second CIIE, including introducing a big data platform and supporting the establishment of year-round bonded exhibition areas.

Volunteer recruiting will start soon, with more international volunteers from Belt and Road countries and regions expected.

More than 1,800 companies have signed up for the expo. Over 900 companies from 77 countries and regions, including 17 Group of Twenty (G20) members countries and over 30 countries along the route of the Belt and Road Initiative, have confirmed participation as exhibitors.