China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) released the Annual Report on China’s Exhibition Industry (2017) at the opening ceremony of the 14th China Expo Forum for International Cooperation (CEFCO) in Qingdao on January 11.
The report was released by CCPIT Vice Chairman Wang Jinzhen, who hailed the achievement of China’s exhibition industry in 2017. Wang said, by the end of 2017, China’s exhibition industry amounted nearly 600 billion yuan (nearly 100 billion USD) with the economic output havin reached 5 trillion yuan (more than 700 billion USD), accounting for 6% of China’s GDP.
Wang Jinzhen said, China’s exhibition industry in 2017 presented six characteristics as follows.
First, the total number of domestic exhibitions saw dramatic increase. China organized 3,663 economic and trade exhibitions covering an area of about 124 million square meters. The number of large-scale exhibitions that covered an area of 50,000 square meters and above reached 509.
Second, China’s overseas exhibitions (expositions) witnessed steady growth in 2017, but the overall scale still maintained the growth momentum. China’s exhibitions in Belt and Road countries steadily increased. Up to November 13, 2017, 100 exhibition organizers across the country have organized exhibitions (expositions) in 70 countries, and participated in 1,549 projects, with a year-on-year increase of 3.82%. As many as 88 exhibition organizers in China organized the participation in 628 exhibition projects in 33 countries in the Belt and Road countries, up by 4.3% compared to the previous year.
Third, the China Pavilion of Astana Expo 2017 won a success and the preparation of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 Beijing (Expo 2019 Beijing) underwent smoothly. The China Pavilion is one of the largest foreign pavilions at Astana Expo 2017. During its operation, it has received one eighth of the total visitors to the Expo 2017. The China Pavilion received the silver medal of the World Expo Award in the theme development category among the most competitive and highest-level A category pavilions. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Kazakhstan counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev visited the China Pavilion. It has been the first time for Chinese President to tour the China Pavilion at overseas World Expos. The Expo 2019 Beijing will be held from April 29 through October 7, 2019 and it will be the highest-level and largest international exposition over the past decade.
Fourth, the exhibition industry in Central and Western China are emerging. A more balanced exhibition industry layout by region has been achieved. The number of exhibitions in Central, Southwest and Northwest China totaled 763, up by 219 compared to the previous year. The total exhibition area reached 26.09 million square meters, up by 10.07 million square meters compared to the previous year.
Fifth, China’s convention and exhibition education saw a fast development with a rapid increase of international certification. An echelon system with regard to a complete major and diploma of the convention and exhibition education has been set up in China. In 2017, the number of higher education institutions that enrolled undergraduate and junior college students specializing in convention and exhibition reached a record high of 290, with a total of 15,000 students enrolled. The development of the education has been among the world top.
Sixth, the global market for Chinese brand exhibitions saw an expansion. China hosted 137 Chinese brand exhibitions in 44 countries in 2017, up by 7% compared to the previous year.
Wang Jinzhen shared the outlook of China’s exhibition industry in 2018. First, import exhibition is expected to be a key area for growth. Second, the exhibitions for the Belt and Road countries will see growth both in quality and quantity. Third, cross border e-commerce exhibitions will be a new highlight for China’s exhibition industry. Fourth, strategic emerging industry will be a focus for the exhibition market. Fifth, the exhibition industry will be further integrated and regional coordinated development will be beefed up.
The Annual Report on China’s Exhibition Industry (2017), compiled by CCPIT, presented the overview of China’s exhibition industry in 2017 and the outlook in 2018 through the analysis on China’s domestic and overseas exhibition markets, China’s exhibition venues, China’s convention and exhibition education, etc.
After the opening ceremony, Wang Jinzhen also received interview from Xinhua News Agency, Shandong TV, Qingdao TV and iFeng.com on the topics of the development of China’s exhibition industry, the international cooperation, etc.
