Chengdu Well on its Way to Becoming a Key Convention and Exhibition City in China

The City Speeds Up Internationalization as Part of the Process

CHENGDU, China, Nov. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The 14^th Western China International Fair (WCIF) recently concluded in Chengdu. The WCIF is regarded as an important diplomatic, trade cooperation and investment promotion platform in western China. This year's WCIF attracted more than 60,000 attendees from 106 countries and regions, and featured 56 investment promotion events, at which 462 investment contracts with total value of 563.2 billion yuan were signed.

The event, however, is only one of the numerous conventions and exhibitions that were held in Chengdu in 2013. The city is attracting an increasing number of major international conventions and exhibitions as a result of the infrastructure improvements the city has taken over the last few years transforming it into an optimal locale for such events. This year is the breakthrough year for Chengdu's exhibition and convention industry, which had successfully advocated and implemented a development strategy focused on marketing, quality, internationalization, branding and standardization, in an effort to build Chengdu into one of China's renowned convention and exhibition cities with international stature.

In June and September of this year, the 2013 Fortune Global Forum and the 12^th World Chinese Entrepreneur Convention, two prestigious events with global prestige and renown, were held respectively in the city, making Chengdu the only city in the world that hosted the two grand events within a single year. The 2013 Fortune Global Forum was honored as "the grandest fortune global forum in its history," while the 12^th World Chinese Entrepreneur Convention was the largest one of the series in terms of the number of both participating countries and regions as well as of key guests.

Also in September, the 35^th IAHR World Congress, as one of the most important events in the calendar of the global water engineering and science community, was successfully held in Chengdu. The event attracted more than 1,400 governmental officials, executive directors of associations, scientific researchers and corporate representatives from 78 countries and regions globally. The congress was the largest in its history in terms of scale, the number of participating representatives, the number of high-profile guests and the amount of papers presented. It was another top international academic conference held in Chengdu, on the heels of the 9^th World Biomaterials Congress and the 21^st International Conference on Nuclear Engineering.

In addition, other important international conventions and exhibitions with global prestige and stature were also held in the city, including the 88^th China Food & Drinks Fair, the 11^th China International Software Cooperation Conference, the 2013 Fortune Global Forum, the 21^st International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, the 2013 China (Chengdu) Electronics Fair, the 14^th International Furniture Fair Chengdu, the 16^th Chengdu International Auto Show, the 2013 PATA Travel Mart, the 8^th EU-China Business & Technology Cooperation Fair and the 2013 annual conference of the Education Forum for Asia.

From January to September, Chengdu hosted 339 major exhibitions and fairs, including 59 international conferences, 107 exhibitions and 173 fairs. The total combined exhibition area of all of the events reached 1.98 million square meters, while the conference area used totaled 3.39 million square meters. These events generated direct income of 4.11 billion yuan, and saw the signing of investment contracts valued at more than 300 billion yuan in the aggregate.

Successfully hosting a series of key international conventions and exhibitions has laid a solid foundation for the internationalization of Chengdu's convention and exhibition industry, while continuously pouring new vitality into the city's economy. Chengdu is consolidating its position as the largest convention and exhibition city in central and western China, one of the top convention and exhibition cities across the country, as well the city of choice to host major national and international conventions and exhibitions in the country's central and western part.

In June of this year, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) approved the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Exposition as a member. ICCA, founded in 1963, maintains a database containing information profiles on 100,000 international conventions held annually worldwide, and is regarded as the most active and authoritative convention organization in the world. The Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Exposition is the first governmental organization in central and western China to join the internationally renowned organization. "This marks Chengdu's exhibition and convention industry reaching a new level in international exchanges and cooperation, further improving the local industry's international visibility, while also accelerating the process of transforming Chengdu into one of China's key convention and exhibition city with international stature," said Mu Tao, director of the bureau.