IPR under spotlight at spring session
The 101st session of the China Import and Export Fair will highlight imports and the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs).
This session will be the first to include a section for imports since the event was established 50 years ago.
The import pavilion is located in Hall 21.2 of the Pazhou Complex, said Xu Bing, a spokesperson for the event's organizing committee. With 629 standard booths, the section covers a gross exhibition area of 10,400 square meters with a net exhibition area of 5,661 square meters.
The import pavilion's exhibits fall into categories of industrial and consumer goods including machinery and equipment, small vehicles and spare parts, electronics and IT products and household electrical appliances, hardware and tools, building materials, kitchen and sanitary equipment, consumer goods, decorations and gifts, jewelry, foodstuffs and agricultural products.
"With the help of customs and quality supervision institutions, the organizing committee will provide international sellers with door-to-door logistics support to facilitate their transportation," Xu said.
A total of 314 companies from 36 countries and regions have confirmed their participation at the International Pavilion, he said. "This also includes seven firms from six least developed countries."
The five countries or regions with the most stands at the event are: Hong Kong SAR, 89; Taiwan Province, 42; South Korea, 36; Malaysia, 35; United States, 19. The Canton Fair's organizing committee has invited 6,000 Chinese buyers.
IPR protection
The organizing committee will spare no effort on the protection of intellectual property rights, Xu said.
As the largest trade event in the country, the Canton Fair has always attached a great deal of importance to IPR protection.
In the 85th session in 1999, it set up a complaint reception station for IPR protection to receive complaints concerning IPR infringement. A complete IPR protection system applicable to real situations at the fair has been established after years of practice.
"We will reinforce the protection of IPR and improve the complaint mechanism to severely punish companies that violate IPR," Xu said. Participants found infringing IPR will be forbidden from attending the exhibition for two to three years.
Export pavilion
Apart from the import pavilion, which is expected to be a highlight of the fair this spring, the majority of the famed Canton Fair is still focused on exports.
The National Pavilion of the 101st session of the Canton Fair has 31,682 stands and a gross exhibition area of 630,000 square meters. Five categories of exhibits will be shown in 34 exhibition sections and 14,430 firms from 50 domestic trading delegations will have stalls in the National Pavilion.
In the import section, there is a brand zone with 4,183 stands featuring 809 well-known companies.
(China Daily 04/14/2007 page1)
