Delegates at the Summit in Shanghai: the city is expected to hold over 300 exhibitions this year, amounting to 80% of the number in 2019. Photo Credit: SCEIA
The Global Exhibition CEO Shanghai Summit (June 19-21) opened at the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong, after a three-year absence under the theme of "New Horizon, New Vision, New Growth – The Mission of Global Exhibition Industry".
At the opening ceremony, the Shanghai Convention & Exhibition Industries Association (SCEIA) signed cooperative agreements with the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), the Society of Independent Show Organisers (SISO), the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS) and the Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Industry Association (HKECIA).
Also present were 17 representatives from global exhibition trade associations, exhibition enterprises and consultancies who were honoured by the Shanghai Commerce Commission as international advisers of the city's exhibition industry.
This year's event drew over 200 executives in the industry and more than 40 industry leaders. The summit, recognised by UFI as a “top three, high-end industry forum of the world”, began in 2014. Its return is seen as a positive sign for the industry's full recovery in China.
Zhang Guohua, deputy director of the Shanghai Commerce Commission, revealed that the city is estimated to hold over 300 exhibitions this year, almost amounting to 80% of the capacity in 2019. Christian Pfeiffer, senior VP of Deutsche Messe AG, said: "We hold nearly 30 exhibitions in China every year. We're continuing to remain confident in the Chinese market by strengthening cooperation with governments and accelerating the business blueprint in Shanghai and other Chinese cities."
The resumption of the summit is an encouraging recovery sign of China's convention and exhibition industry and its return to the global exhibition market, bringing new opportunities to the global convention and exhibition industry, said Chen Xianjin, an official from the SCEIA.