German expo firm bullish on China's biz prospects

Messe Frankfurt GmbH, one of the world's largest trade fair and event organizers by sales revenue, plans to hold over 50 commercial exhibitions across China in 2025, said a senior executive, adding that the company is eager to keep pace with the nation's rapidly evolving trends in emerging sectors.

The German group held 41 exhibitions in China in 2023 and plans to hold 45 trade shows in the country this year. It will add security and low-altitude economy-themed business exhibitions within the country next year.

Highlighting that the expo business is a reflection of market trends, Stephan Buurma, a board member of Messe Frankfurt, said that China is now at the forefront in many sectors, excelling not only in economic development, but also in technological advancements.

Take the auto sector as an example. A decade ago, China wasn't particularly dominant in car manufacturing. However, the country today has become a major player in this industry, especially in the field of electric vehicles, said Buurma, who is also managing director of Messe Frankfurt Asia Holding Ltd.

"This clearly indicates China's progress up the value chain, and we have seen growing demand for trade shows in this area," he added.

Driven by market demand and China's industrial upgrade, Shanghai hosted a total of 260 exhibitions, covering a total area of 9.46 million square meters in the first half, jumping 53.85 percent and 24.62 percent year-on-year, respectively, with the scale of exhibitions slightly surpassing that of the same period in pre-COVID-19 2019, said the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, hosted 587 major exhibitions and events during the January-June period, generating total revenue of 77.46 billion yuan ($10.87 billion), up 5.9 percent on a yearly basis, said the city's exhibition bureau.

The Frankfurt-based group held the 2024 Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics: Autumn edition in the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) in late August, featuring nearly 4,000 exhibitors from 27 countries and regions.

Buurma said this big-ticket trade fair has proven to be a thriving hub for business, with participants expressing renewed optimism about prospects in the Chinese market. It serves as a meeting point where business and innovation converge.

Supported by 2,500 employees at more than 30 locations across the world, services provided by Messe Frankfurt include renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction, marketing, personnel and food services.

Despite global foreign direct investment exhibiting a contraction trend in 2023 due to factors such as sluggish economic growth and geopolitical tensions, Buurma said that his company is not withdrawing its resources from China. On the contrary, the group has a strong pipeline in the country and remains fully committed to investing in the market.

"We are also looking at bringing Chinese exhibitors to other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, as we believe that intra-Asian trade will become increasingly dominant and significant in the future. Intra-Asian trade is a key focus area for us, and we're closely monitoring its developments," he said.

That sentiment is in line with the latest data. ASEAN remained China's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade value reaching 3.92 trillion yuan from January to July, up 10.5 percent from a year ago, accounting for 15.8 percent of the country's total foreign trade, said the General Administration of Customs.

For industrial and supply chains, professional exhibitions not only serve as a bridge connecting supply and demand for companies, but also provide a convenient platform for industry chain integration and upstream-downstream collaboration, said Lin Meng, director of the Modern Supply Chain Research Institute at the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.