Special Supplement: Suzhou Expo: new global showcase

Suzhou has become one of the fastest growing and most competitive cities in China, thanks to momentum created by its outward-oriented economy. With the presence of 113 of the World 500 companies, the city is on its way to becoming a production base for the IT, automotive parts, moulding, precision machinery and packaging sectors. Last year, Suzhou's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 482.026 billion yuan.

The economic growth has provided great development opportunities for the local exhibition industry. Suzhou's industrial and geographic advantages make it an excellent choice for hosting high-quality expositions, and the Suzhou International Expo Center is an ideal venue to showcase famous brands.

Located in the heart of Suzhou Industrial Park and facing Jinji Lake, China's largest municipal lake, Suzhou International Expo Center resembles an elegant fold-out fan.

The center occupies an area of 188,600 sq m with a total designed construction area of 255,000 sq m -- one of the largest centers of its kind in Jiangsu Province.

Since opening in 2004, the center has welcomed 15,600 exhibiting companies and held roughly 300 exhibitions and conferences, with an accumulated exposition area of 840,000 sq m and nearly 2.44 million visitors.

The events include the Third China International Patent and Brand Exhibition, China International Circular Economy Exhibition, IC China, Suzhou China Electronic Manufacturer Exposition (eMEX), the 32nd China (Autumn) Pharmaceutical Equipment Exhibition, the 2007 China Domestic Tourism Fair, China International Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Fair, and China International Logistic Technology Exhibition.

These international and domestic expositions and fairs testify to the center's solid software and hardware facilities.

The first-class hardware facilities and the excellent services provided by the center, the importance the local government attaches to this particular sector, as well as the improving urban traffic and accessory conditions, all help create a sound environment for the development of Suzhou's conference and exhibition hosting industry.

Innovative operation

Suzhou International Expo Center not only provides a venue for exhibitions and conferences, but also organizes its own events on its own and in cooperation with partners, which helps nurture the local exhibition and conference market and bring in more economic revenue.

Organizing events independently has been its main business. These events include the Suzhou Real Estate Sector Exhibition, Suzhou International Industry Exhibition, China International Cleaning Technology Exhibition and the China International Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Fair.

On top of traditional venue services, the center seeks to set up a permanent import and export display and trade and cooperation platforms. So far, the permanent exposition projects have been introduced for imports from Spain, India and African countries.

The innovative operation can be largely ascribed to its young team. Currently, the average age of the staff is only 34, with 85 percent of them holding a BA or even higher degree. It is the human-oriented management philosophy that helps create a core competitiveness for the center.

International co-op

While organizing events independently, the center is also active in international cooperation in order to increase its profile.

In an attempt to establish an international exchange platform and cooperation network, the center has joined with an array of international associations.

It is now members of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) and the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO), with intimate cooperative ties with more than 80 foreign embassies and consulates in China and 15 international commercial institutions.

It has also signed international cooperation agreements with 10 international SME conference and exhibition organizers.

Jeffrey C Byrne, director of global business development with the Freeman Group, the biggest exhibition service in North America, headed a delegation to visit Suzhou International Expo Center on July 27. Freeman has long been coveting the rapidly growing Chinese market.

In its effort to find a Chinese partner, Freeman showed great interest in the Suzhou-based center. Byrne was impressed by the center's hardware as well as Suzhou Industrial Park's economic strengths.

Seeing huge potential in Suzhou's exhibition and conference industry, Byrne expected Freeman to join hands with the center in exploiting the local market. He said efforts would be made to put into effect the details of their cooperation as soon as possible.

(China Daily 09/05/2007 page9)