International meetings

Because of its long self-imposed seclus-ion, China is eager to "internationalize". Hosting international events, therefore, has become a favorite means of raising the country's global visibility, with the added advantage that our State coffers appear inexhaustible, and there is virtually no taxpayer oversight on how and how much public money is spent on these events, as long as it is paid in the name of the State.

In some ways, as one of the leading emerging economies, this country has an obligation to play host to some of the world's most important conventions - the Six-Party Talks for instance - but the country's thirst for international recognition has also cultivated an ambitious, and of course lucrative, convention and exhibition industry that is itching to make every meeting and exhibition "international".

Events carrying an "international" sticker draw more attention from superiors, attract higher-ranking bureaucrats, and, most important of all, usually win more subsidies from the government.