International expos highlight Qingdao

Tornado race begins a new round at the 2007 Qingdao International Sailing Regatta yesterday. Ju Chuanjiang

The number and scale of exhibitions peaked last year when more than 60 events attracted 1.5 million visitors from home and abroad, creating total revenue of 4.2 billion yuan ($552 million) for Qingdao's economy.

The degree of specialization and internationalization of these exhibitions has improved markedly in recent years.

It is estimated this year that the Qingdao International Exhibition Center (QIEC) will host more than 60 international exhibitions.

High-level international conferences including the China International Olympics and Tourism Forum, and Chinese, Japanese and Korean Tourism Ministers Council were held there in May and June last year.

Qingdao Mayor Xia Geng said the city was one of the most economically dynamic cities in China, and the thriving exhibition industry reflected development of the local economy.

Tourism has been a big winner, with more than 14 million tourists from China and abroad passing through Qingdao in the first half of the year.

Qingdao has had a number of awards conferred on it including Best City for Business, Most Culturally Advanced City and Premier Tourist Destination in China.

Notable exhibits include the China International Consumer Electronics Show (SINOCES) and Qingdao International Beer Festival, both of which have world influences.

The SINOCES, held at the QICC last month, attracted 430 well-known enterprises on the industrial chain of consumer electronics.

Top companies GE, IBM, Sony, Siemens, Haier, Hisense and Lenovo all exhibited products.

Since 2005 the successful partnership between SINOCES and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) exhibition, the world's largest consumer electronics show held every January in Las Vegas, has shaped the international pattern of electronic sales.

Qingdao Deputy Mayor Wu Jingjian announced the government's desire to make SINOCES the top exhibition brand of consumer electronics of the Asia-Pacific.

The 17-year-old Qingdao International Beer Festival is another big event attended by more than two million beer lovers.

Currently quenching the thirst of drinkers, China's No 1 festival is serving up the flavors of 45 top brewers from home and abroad, including China's Tsingtao, Germany's Paulaner, America's Budweiser and Denmark's Carlsberg.

It is estimated some 3.88 million people will take part this year.

President and CEO of CEA Gary Shapiro said Qingdao was selected home to SINOCES because it was the "largest manufacturing base of consumer electronics in China".

"Qingdao has been born with the advantage in this industrial field," he said.

With 14 well-known trademarks including Haier and Tsingtao, and 44 popular brands in China, Qingdao is second only to Shanghai as home to the largest number of popular Chinese brands.

With so many business interests, large numbers of foreigners now live in Qingdao, of whom 110,000 South Koreans represent the largest group.

With light traffic and convenient land, sea and air access, Qingdao has become a magnet for multinational investment.

As Beijing's Olympic partner, Qingdao's staging of the sailing regatta will also draw attention from both domestic and foreign companies and customers.

Thus a series of exhibitions associated with Olympic sailing regatta, like the International Marine Exposition, have been held in Qingdao in recent years.

On the strength of these shows, Qingdao will bid for the 2009 International Horticultural Exposition to further extend the city's international appeal.

With a framework both in industry and urban construction to support the city as an exhibition hub, local government will introduce more sporting and cultural events and bid for more international summits in years to come.

(China Daily 08/22/2007 page24)