A much-prized UFI membership certificate is issued to CCIAF, which is held annually in Changchun. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Changchun International Agriculture and Food Expo, or CCIAF, which is held each year in Changchun -- capital city of Northeast China's Jilin province -- was recently granted certification by the prestigious Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), according to local media reports.

This marked the expo's formal entrance into the ranks of international-level exhibitions and recognition and affirmation by international professional institutions in terms of its exhibition content, organization, internationalization and specialization.

The France-based UFI is one of the most influential exhibition industry associations in the world and leading companies in various countries have joined it to become members, or have taken pride in branded projects with UFI certification. More than 915 international trade fairs have UFI-approved labels, providing quality assurance for visitors and exhibitors.

After an on-site audit of the 17th and 18th CCIAF -- held in 2018 and 2019 – the Changchun expo was certified by the UFI in November this year.

The rating meant that the expo has been recognized and affirmed by international professional institutions in terms of exhibition scale and exhibition history, which is an important milestone for CCIAF to become a top international event.

With UFI membership, it will achieve new improvements in its standardization, specialization and internationalization.

UFI certification has strict requirements in terms of scale, history, as well as the proportion of international exhibitors and visitors, and its certification is a symbol of the quality, strength and internationalization of an expo that is recognized by its global peers.

A UFI-certified exhibition signifies a high-quality trade exhibition and is the "gold medal" of the global exhibition industry.

At present, more than 40,000 large-scale exhibitions are held in the world every year but only 1,000 or so international trade fairs have obtained UFI certification, while only 150 of the tens of thousands of domestic Chinese exhibitions have passed UFI certification.