On the morning of February 25, Sang Jingmin, president of the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Industries Association, accompanied Zhang Guohua, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, to visit SCEIA member Shanghai Shifu Exhibition Co., Ltd. for a special research visit on promoting the orderly resumption of exhibitions. Li Lei, director of the exhibition industry division of the Municipal Commission of Commerce, and other responsible officials also joined the visit.
Deputy Director Zhang Guohua and his delegation listened to a report by Zhu Xuqiang, general manager of Shifu Exhibition, on the company's current operations, difficulties encountered in business operation and related requests.
President Sang Jingmin introduced the association's work over the past two years of the continuing epidemic. Under the guidance of the Municipal Commission of Commerce, the association has surveyed enterprises, understood their needs and submitted special reports to higher-level government departments several times. At the same time, the association has actively organized financial, insurance, legal and other resources to connect with exhibition enterprises in order to help ease their difficulties. On February 14, Mayor Gong Zheng called for the steady development of the exhibition industry. Shanghai exhibition enterprises are actively preparing for the orderly holding of exhibitions under epidemic prevention and control conditions, and the spring of Shanghai's exhibition industry is expected to arrive soon.
Deputy Director Zhang Guohua thanked Shifu Exhibition for its sense of responsibility in representing exhibition enterprises and reflecting industry issues. He noted that municipal leaders attach great importance to the difficulties faced by exhibition enterprises and have held special meetings to study and advance solutions. He set out four requirements. First, confidence should be strengthened. Exhibition enterprises should do a good job in prevention and control under normalized epidemic conditions, explore paths for healthy development, prepare for the worst and work toward the best. Second, policies should be applied by category and key priorities should be highlighted. The commission will actively respond to the expectations of exhibition enterprises, adopt category-based measures and give priority to ensuring the orderly holding of exhibitions with strong international influence, high industry recognition and a significant role in supporting city functions. Third, the epidemic prevention level of exhibitions should be improved. Shanghai should actively draw on the successful experience and closed-loop management models of major events such as the China International Import Expo and the Winter Olympics, and promote the orderly resumption of exhibitions that can closely cooperate with epidemic prevention and control management. Fourth, enterprises should improve their risk resilience. Exhibition enterprises should explore diversified business paths, improve their level of digitalization and enhance their ability to adapt to the external environment, thereby supporting Shanghai's development as an international exhibition capital.
