BERLIN, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Metro, a leading international company in wholesale and food retail, hopes to enhance its exchange and future cooperation in imports with partners across the world through the upcoming China International Import Expo (CIIE).

In an recent exclusive interview with Xinhua, Philippe Palazzi, chief operating officer (COO) and management board member of Metro AG, said: "China is an important growth market for Metro and we'd like to take the opportunity of CIIE to showcase our strength in imports and global sourcing, which is one of our core competences as an international player in food distribution."

"We also want to use such a great platform to enhance our exchange and communication with local customers, business partners and other stakeholders as we are committed to the long-term development in China," Palazzi added.

The 47-year-old COO said that his company attaches great importance to CIIE and he is delighted that he will go to attend Metro exhibition booth on Nov. 5 on behalf of the management board.

Meanwhile, "we wish to explore CIIE to discover more suitable business partners for future cooperation in imports so that we will be further empowered to provide high quality products to meet the demands of our customers in China," said he.

CIIE, the first of its kind to be held by China in Shanghai, will be held on November 5-10. So far more than 2,800 companies from over 130 countries and regions have confirmed their participation in the event.

METRO will not only participate in the first CIIE this November, but also has confirmed its participation in the next year's CIIE.