Chengdu expos turn over a leaf

Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, will host a series of international conferences, forums, trade fairs and exhibitions later this year.

The events include a G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting, the 2016 Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair, the 16th Western China International Fair, the 22nd World Route Development Forum, the 11th EU-China Business and Technology Cooperation Fair, the 18th International Wheelset Congress, the 17th Chengdu International Furniture Exhibition, and the 19th Chengdu International Automobile Show.

A spokesman for the Chengdu exhibition bureau said: "Chengdu attaches great importance to the branding, professionalism and internationalization of the exhibitions and conventions it holds, and Chengdu will do its best to become a famous city for exhibitions and conventions."

Reed Exhibitions of Britain, Messe Frankfurt and Koelnmesse of Germany, and Singapore Exhibition Services have organized events in Chengdu, making it a popular destination for international exhibition companies.

"Chengdu will make its innovation industry an important content in its exhibitions and show the city's vitality, development potential and prospects to attract talents and resources from around the world," the spokesman said.

Chengdu was listed as one of the top 10 cities in China fit for innovation by Fortune magazine last year. Chengdu ranked first among the cities in central and western China in the number of newly registered enterprises and new patents last year.

The Chengdu government hopes to make the Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair that opens in June an important platform for exchanges of capital, projects and technology, and use the annual event to promote Chengdu's business and technology innovations.

The city will make the fair an influential annual event in the world, the spokesman said.

It will hold about 520 large-scale conventions and exhibitions this year, among which 20 percent are international events. The city's revenue from these is expected to hit 77.92 billion yuan ($12 billion) this year, up 10 percent year-on-year.

The government is committed to winning more approvals from UFI (the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) and the International Congress and Convention Association for its activities, and organizing local enterprises to enter the international market, especially Africa, Southeast Asia and South Asia, through these events.

The government actively supports local convention and exhibition corporations to cooperate with international partners, and constantly enhance their international influence and exhibition organizing level.

The Power of Bookstore: 2016 Chengdu International Bookstore Forum was held at the Fangsuo Bookshop in downtown Chengdu, Sichuan province from May 6 through 8.

The event attracted delegates from well-known booksellers in China and abroad, including Shakespeare and Company from France and Waterstones and Foyles from Britain.

The writers, publishers, architects and cultural industry businesspeople attending the forum discussed bookstore operations, designing public cultural spaces and the role of bookstores in a city.

The 94th China Food and Drink Fair concluded in success in the city in late March.

Chengdu hosted the 15th Western China International Dental Show in its new International Exhibition Center on April 29.

The exhibition area covered over 34,000 square meters and there were more than 1,000 exhibit booths.

More than 25,000 dentists attended the activity, which was approved by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, the first exhibition in Sichuan province to win such approval and the first dental show in China to obtain that approval.

City looks to exhibition industry for new growth

A new Western China Exhibition City is under construction in the Tianfu New District in Chengdu.

The building will house eight exhibition centers and 16 exhibition halls.

It will have 200,000 square meters of indoor exhibition area and 100,000 square meters of exhibition area outdoors. The building will become a permanent site of the Western China International Fair, and has the ability to host large-scale exhibitions, conventions and commercial activities.

After it is finished in August, Chengdu will have two large-scale exhibition centers with the largest exhibition area of all cities in the west of China.

A spokesman for the city's exhibition authorities said Chengdu would show its five development concepts in the conventions and exhibitions it hosts - innovation, balance, greenness, openness and sharing.

The Chengdu city government believes that holding influential international conventions and exhibitions is an effective marketing and promotion of the city, and will boost consumption and create jobs in the city.

The government hopes the aggregation effects of a multitude of production factors and resources can help the city upgrade its industrial structures, and boost the development of its innovation, emerging industries and service sectors.

Contact the writers at liyang@chinadaily.com.cn and liyu@chinadaily.com.cn

An artistic rendering of the new Western China Exhibition City. Provided To China Daily

(China Daily 06/01/2016 page10)