Beijing hosts fourth major service expo

The world's first large-scale fair to specialize in the service sector will be held from May 28 to June 1 in the Chinese capital.

The fourth China (Beijing) International Fair for Trade in Services will be hosted by China's Ministry of Commerce and the Beijing municipal government and will have exhibitions in the sciences, technology, healthcare and other fields. There will be 50,000 square meters of exhibition space devoted to the fair at the National Convention Center.

There will also be more than 10 forums and conferences and more than 100 trade activities. About 25,000 representatives from more than 1,000 companies and agencies have been invited.

In May, the central government approved of Beijing piloting reform to develop the nation's service industry and open the industry to international cooperation. The service sector contributes more than 80 percent to Beijing's local economy and the economic scale of Beijing's service industry tops all inland cities in China.

The city government plans to make the fair an international platform for the trade in services.

The World Trade Organization and the event's organizing committee will jointly hold a global summit on services on May 28, inviting government officials, executives from international organizations and enterprises, and experts to discuss development trends in the international service trade.

The Beijing government will also publish a series of new policies and development plans for the trade in services at the fair.

Companies from all over China are welcome to the fair, said its organizer. The fair is expected to become a pathway for potential foreign partners to reach the Chinese market.

Cheng Hong, vice-mayor of Beijing and deputy director of the event's organizing committee, said at a promotional activity with foreign embassies and foreign chambers of commerce in China that the nation's service industry and service trade have increasingly become new driving forces of economic growth and a new foundation for international cooperation.

"The fair will show the potential of the Chinese market," Cheng said. "China will also convey its confidence in the development and internationalization of its service industry through the fair's platform."

The fair was established in 2012. More than 6,100 companies and nearly 400,000 business people from 154 countries and regions have taken part in the previous three fairs, yielding more than $220 billion in intentional trade volume.

The WTO, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the three main international organizations in service trade, are permanent supporters of the fair.