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rancorous trade disputes between the two countries suggests that a rebound there may be slower . Those attending felt that it was probably too early for the first proper CES event to benefit from the relaxation of travel restrictions . A hall was set aside for testing those from China and Hong Kong and it will be interesting to see how many of the 40,000 or so international attendees made it across the Pacific this time .
Several people to whom we have spoken wonder how quickly confidence for international attendees at events in China will bounce back . The media reporting of the Covid wave has painted a picture which suggests that it will be a while before any but the most enthusiastic will be getting on planes for events there .
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Mofcom ’ s enthusiasm for getting back to business will trump caution and early March will see major events taking place once again in China ’ s most important exhibition city .
This has been anticipated for some time . SNIEC general manager Michael Kruppe told an UFI Connects webinar before Christmas : “ Many organisers are calling my team and fighting over time slots in 2023 . This is definitely a good indication of how the whole industry is thinking and how 2023 is likely to develop .”
Another interesting side-effect of China refocusing on using trade fairs to kick-start its sagging economy has been a significant boost in interest in outbound exhibitor activity . This was first reported to us back in late November by a UK-based organiser which had seen a sudden surge in bookings from China at its southeast Asia trade fairs . Others we have been speaking with confirm this
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trend .
Riding this trend , Singapore will be hosting a new China Machinery and Electronics Show at the Sands Expo Centre in late March . One industry commentator told us that the 8,000 square metres of exhibition space is already sold out .
The CEO of one large German Messe told us that “ if I look at our China outbound business , it reached pre-Covid levels by September last year ”. One of his shows late last year actually exceeded any pre-Covid level of Chinese exhibitors . “ In their typical agile manner ”, he said , “ Chinese companies have often adjusted to the circumstances in the past two years and recruited many more overseas Chinese to man their booths at overseas shows ”.
Trade disputes How quickly this will manifest itself in the key US market is not entirely clear . The continuing negativity of the political environment and
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“ After having been basically closed for over a year , they really understand the value that our business brings to the area ” |
Hong Kong The first wave of those who will be keen is likely to come from Hong Kong where the border with the rest of China also re-opened on 8 January . The early January international shows in Hong Kong , among the first to take place since the lifting of travel restrictions and hotel quarantines were reported to be relatively quiet .
But it is early days and the organisers of the major spring and autumn fairs there are sounding more optimistic than they have done since before the 2019 riots about a rebound in Hong Kong .
With the brakes now coming off , China is undoubtedly going to grow faster this year than the anaemic 3 % reported for 2022 . When the world ’ s second largest economy starts to move at significant pace , it could once again become the main driver of global economic growth by the end of this year . With weak economies expected in Europe and possibly North America , exhibition businesses are likely to heed the advice given to the Watergate reporters and “ follow the money ”.
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