Reposted from China News Service
China News Service, Shanghai, April 12, by reporter Jiang Yu. Gu Jun, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, said on April 12 that Shanghai's exhibition industry is currently maintaining rapid development momentum, with last year's exhibition scale ranking first in China. Shanghai has made it clear that by 2020 it aims to become an international exhibition capital with a voice in the global market.
At the third member assembly of the fourth session of the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Industries Association held that day, Gu Jun said that Shanghai's latest policies to promote the development of an international exhibition capital would be released soon.
According to the Shanghai Exhibition Industry Development Report released at the assembly, by the end of 2014 Shanghai's total available exhibition area and capacity for mega venues had reached the world's highest level, while both the number of exhibitions and exhibition area ranked first in China.
In 2014, Shanghai held 755 exhibitions of various types, accounting for nearly 10 percent of all exhibitions in China. The exhibition area reached 12.4 million square meters, one eighth of China's total exhibition area and 1.45 times that of Guangzhou, which ranked second. Compared with the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan period, the number of exhibitions and exhibition area increased by 17.6 percent and 54.23 percent respectively.
The report said that by 2020, Shanghai's key expected indicators for the exhibition industry include having 200 professional exhibition companies citywide, more than 30 globally renowned exhibition enterprises investing in Shanghai, and more than 35 organizations joining the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, UFI. By then, Shanghai's total exhibition area is expected to reach 20 million square meters, the number of exhibitions with a single-event area above 100,000 square meters is expected to reach 50, and international exhibitions are expected to account for more than 80 percent of the annual exhibition scale.
An international exhibition capital cannot be self-proclaimed; it must be recognized by the international community. The report cited UFI standards for an international exhibition capital, including that the city's per capita income should reach the average level of developed countries, the city should have the status of a trade center, and the service sector should account for more than 50 percent of GDP.
At the assembly, enterprises and individuals who had contributed to Shanghai's exhibition industry were commended. Chen Xianjin, president of the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Industries Association, expressed the hope that these enterprises would continue working for Shanghai's development as an international exhibition capital.