Embracing changes

Celion Su

From 11 to 13 January， 2018， the 14th China Expo Forum for International Cooperation （CEFCO 2018） took grand occasion in Qingdao. Hundreds of convention and exhibition professionals from China and abroad attended the event to share latest industry trends and to seek cooperation opportunities.

Industry elites celebrated the event

CEFCO 2018 was co-organized by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade （CCPIT）， Global Association of the Exhibition Industry （UFI）， International Association of Exhibitions and Events（IAEE） and Society of Independent Show Organizations （SISO）. Under the theme of “Embracing changes”， the forum this year focused on emerging trends， opportunities， modes and driving forces of the exhibition industry， with the aim to promote the transformation and upgrading of the Chinese and international convention and exhibition industry.

A total of 634 industry delegates attended the Opening Ceremony of CEFCO 2018， among them were 93 VIP guests. CCPIT Vice Chairman Wang Jinzhen， Deputy Mayor of Qingdao Municipal Government Liu Jianjun， Ministry of Commerce Trade and Service Division Investigator Hu Hanming， UFI President Corrado Peraboni， IAEE President & CEO David DuBois， SISO Executive Director David Audrain attended the Opening Ceremony. In addition， a total of about 500 delegates from 18 countries and regions in the world attended the three-day event.

Most of the attendees had rich field experiences in the industry. During the occasion， there was strong industry exchange atmosphere of the Chinese and international convention and exhibition industry.

Strengthening industry innovation and international cooperation

Wang Jinzhen pointed out at his opening ceremony speech that in recent years， the Chinese exhibition has been undergoing rapid economic development， structural adjustment， accelerating of transformation and upgrading， and innovation driven， showing a good momentum of vigorous development. The industry has made important contribution to the economic and social development of China， and has expanded new space for the growth of the global exhibition industry.

Wang emphasized that to speed up the development of the Chinese exhibition economy， we must adhere to the structural reform of supply side as the main line， penetrate into the new trends， and cultivate new exhibition formats. The first was to actively practice new ideas. The exhibition industry should transform and upgrade， adhere to the quality first and efficiency priority， and take the supply side structural reform as the main line to promote the quality transformation， efficiency transformation and power transformation of industrial development， and constantly enhance innovation and competitiveness. The second was to accurately grasp the new trends. The exhibition industry must accelerate the process of commercialization， professionalization， internationalization， informationization， deepen international exchanges and cooperation， strive to build quality， differentiated competition， promote the delicate and in depth development. The third was to continue to explore new forms of business.

Deputy Mayor Liu Jianjun expressed that this year， the forum was held in Qingdao， it would promote exchanges and cooperation of Qingdao exhibition industry with other places， and would promote the construction of Qingdao as a famous exhibition city in Northeast Asia.

Rich agenda， authoritative report

CEFCO 2018 consist of 4 plenary meetings， 12 sub-meetings， cross border activities such as "Exhibition+Innovation"，"Exhibition + Industry"， seminars， sharing sessions and other supporting activities. CEFCO 2018 had the biggest number of activities among all the past sessions. The topics discussed included “The Changes of Convention and Exhibition Patterns in Global Economic Recovery and Hot Spots for Investment”“Venue Construction and All-around Upgrading of Venue Management” and “Exhibition-centered Cities that Surpass ‘Tier 2 and Move Towards ‘Tier 1 ”. The forum played practical guiding role in the future industry development.

During the meeting， the Annual Report on Chinas Exhibition Industry 2017 coordinated and published by CCPIT was released to the industry. It covers the general situation of the Chinese and international exhibition industry， venue building， MICE education， and is a window for the domestic and global exhibition circle to understand the Chinese exhibition industry.

"Wisdom" upgrading， caring service

This conference reception team provided professional and quality service， and the application of science and exhibition elements left deep impression on the participants. On the first day of the meeting， the organizer used face recognition technology in the process of on-site registration and security， sparing the time-consuming process of badge printing and queuing. In addition， participants could view and share the event live pictures online by simply scanning the QR code. The use of new technology made CEFCO 2018 smarter and more friendly， and provided the participants with better experience than ever.

Since its foundation in 2005， CEFCO has been adhering to the concept of "opening， cooperation and win-win" and is committed to building a platform for communication and cooperation between Chinese and international exhibition industry. Now it is the 3rd biggest exhibition forum in the world. CEFCO 2019 will take place in Boao， Hainan.