Chinese companies signed a record US$83.5 billion in import deals at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, reinforcing the importance of mainland consumers as growth drivers for global businesses and the world economy less than two weeks after the US and China reached a trade truce.The total – the fifth straight record high for the annual six-day event, which concluded on Monday – represented a 4.4 per cent increase from a year earlier, according to the organiser, the CIIE...