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Eastern fair increases in scale, attendance
By Zou Huilin (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-03-02 08:59
The 14th East China Fair, the largest regional trade fair in China, kicked
off at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre on March 1. The fair is
witnessing a sharp increase of the scale and the number of international
exhibitors.
The seven-day fair occupies a floor area of 80,500 square metres, a 40 per
cent increase when compared with the area of the 2003 event.
In fact, the expo centre put the two newly-built halls into use especially
for this very fair in response to the increasing number of exhibitors from home
and abroad, according to officials from the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Economic
Relations and Trade Commission, a major organizer of the fair.
The stalls in the fair have increased from 2,966 in 2003 to this year's
4,158, an increase of over 40 per cent.
The stalls rented by foreign exhibitors enjoyed the quickest increase rate
when compared with stalls rented by Chinese exhibitors, with a rise surpassing
60 per cent.
This year, 168 stalls were rented by 142 foreign companies from 16 countries
and regions such as the United States, Britain, Japan, France and Spain.
Commerce Vice-Minister Gao Hucheng believes the increase is the inevitable
result of economic growth in the East China region including nine provinces and
cities, such as Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong and the
cities of Nanjing and Ningbo.
He added that economic growth in the East China region has mainly been
promoted by foreign trade and related businesses.
With the increase of the fair's size and the international exhibitors, the
number of visitors is also rising substantially.
The International Trading Promotion Co Ltd, another major organizer of this
fair, revealed that the number of international visitors this year will see an
increase of 15 per cent when compared with that of 2003.
Last year's East China Fair had over 15,700 visitors from 175 countries and
regions, as well as 100,000 Chinese visitors.
Gerardo Martinez, the general manager of a Mexican trading company, came to
Shanghai especially for attending the fair.
He said that the plastic products made in China are of high-quality and he
would try to find his Chinese supplier at the fair.
Insiders pointed out that apart from international visitors, the numbers of
professional visitors and those with clear intentions to purchase from the
exhibitors are also increasing.
Some of the largest delegations will include world-leading companies like
Honeywell, Metro, Carrefour, and Du Pont.
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