China, Germany witness growing cooperation in exhibition industry

TIANJIN - China held 156 exhibition projects in Germany in 2024, making the European nation the country with the most exhibition projects from China, said a report released Friday at the 20th China Expo Forum for International Cooperation in Tianjin Municipality, North China.

Germany also ranked first concerning the exhibition project area of 122,000 square meters, said the 2024 Annual Report on China's Exhibition Industry released by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

The Drupa exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany, the world's largest and most prestigious international exhibition in the printing industry, was the largest exhibition in terms of booth area for Chinese companies participating abroad in 2024.

Germany is widely recognized as a hub of the global exhibition industry, said J?rn Holtmeier, managing director of the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry.

Over 160 international exhibitions take place in Germany each year, attracting nearly 10 million visitors and more than 180,000 exhibitors from all over the world, he said.

As one of the largest and most important industrial trade fairs in the world, the 2024 Hannover Messe in Germany attracted more than 1,150 Chinese enterprises, making China the top foreign exhibitor country.

The fair has been a significant platform for deepening technological and economic cooperation between China and Germany.

According to Arno Reich, senior vice-president of Deutsche Messe AG, trade fairs can bring people together to promote innovation, sustainable development, and business success.

One of the company's most successful subsidiaries in international business is in China. The environment here is better, especially in terms of supporting the cooperation and development of international trade activities and in China, the company has a long tradition of successful cooperation with both local and international partners, he said.

For a long time, Germany has valued China's exhibition market and continuously deepened cooperation. Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC), a joint venture between Lujiazui Exhibition Development Co Ltd Deutsche Messe AG, Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, and Messe München GmbH, is jointly operated by China and Germany.

SNIEC has organized over 100 international trade shows annually and attracted more than 7 million visitors all over the world.

"I'm happy to witness that the market developed very fast, not only for quantity, but also for quality in terms of the growing events, exhibitions and conventions we have," said Michael Kruppe, general manager of the SNIEC Co Ltd.

Kruppe witnessed many new agreements signed with international associations and players at the forum.

"I think that is a fantastic start for at least another 10 or 20 years of growth in the industry," he said.

In Kruppe's eyes, China is a trendsetter in the exhibition industry of combining different elements from business to business, business to customers, and also conventions, festivals, fashion shows, and concerts.

More importantly, Kruppe believes that good exchanges between the Chinese and German exhibition industries will promote the global economic and trade cooperation.