BEIJING, July 13(Xinhua) -- More and more countries along the Belt and Road are becoming potential markets for international specialized exhibitions, and witnessing an increasingly active local exhibition economy, according to the message delivered from the recent Global Exhibition CEO Shanghai Summit 2018.
Experts believe that deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and countries along the Belt and Road is the major driving force for such a trend.
The Global Exhibition CEO Shanghai Summit 2018 was attended by around 250 global exhibition industry senior managements from China, France, Italy, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, and other countries and regions. The Chinese government and enterprises’ active participation in overseas exhibitions is an epitome of China’s efforts in opening up and advancing shared prosperity with global partners, experts say.
This September, the 2018 Asia-Pacific Metal Industry Exhibition will be staged in Bangkok, Thailand this September which is expected to see 120 Chinese and foreign exhibitors participate in the event.
Overseas experts think that the most important consideration for exhibition venue selection is whether the place has enough market potential and relatively mature industries to facilitate deals of considerable scale.
Thailand’s metal casting industry had a reportedly modest size, with industry scale and annual output both lower than the world’s average. However, there sees an increasing number of Chinese mold and casting enterprises entering the Thai market, represented particularly by those from Zhejiang, who hope to leverage various local tax breaks and port resources to further tap Southeast Asian markets. Moreover, the Thai government is also promoting “Industry 4.0” designed to enhance its manufacturing capacity and bringing in new technologies and equipment for foundry industry which is one of the basic manufacturing sectors. Related market capacity has grown significantly under such background.
China participated in and held a total of 650 exhibitions in 36 countries and regions along the Belt and Road in 2017, which attracted 28,000 Chinese enterprises, with those figures all higher than 2016, according to Xian Guoyi, head of the Department of Trade in Services and Commercial Services under the Ministry of Commerce
More than 80 countries and international organizations have entered into over 100 cooperation agreements with China since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed, with trade volume between China and related countries exceeding 4 trillion U.S. dollars and total investments exceeding 60 billion U.S. dollars.
In the first five months of 2018, China made steady progress in investment cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road, increased investment in 54 countries, saw rapid growth in both the value of new overseas contracted projects and turnover achieved.
Countries and regions along the Belt and Road have benefitted not only from the Chinese economy’s radiating effect, but also from a broader domestic market opened to the world and higher-level display platform provided by China, according to industry observers, noting that the China International Import Expo (the CIIE) due to be opened in November this year is a strong case in point.
The CIIE has received more-than-expected enthusiasm, said Zhong Xiaomin, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, noting that a great number of exhibitors from countries and regions along the Belt and Road are eager to participate in the CIIE.
At a previous exchange meeting between exhibitors and potential buyers, exhibitors from the Philippines, Austria, New Zealand and Belgium (among others) all looked forward to entering the Chinese market with their premium and featured local products, riding the wave of consumption upgrading of the Chinese people. Above all, China will further lower tariffs on a wide variety of consumer goods, which has strongly boosted the confidence of overseas sellers.
Both Chinese and foreign exhibition practitioners hope to see countries along the Belt and Road further share in prosperity and development by seizing the historic opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative, and through more active international exhibitions. (Edited by Niu Huizhe, niuhuizhe@xinhua.org)
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