Related stories

Beijing Investment Promotion Bureau: Better Public Service Brings More Foreign Investment of Higher Quality Liu Bi Ju's Small Pickles and Big Business Yong An Tang, Reality Matches the Name, Conscience Brings Wealth Beijing Association of Sourcing Service Computer Animations and Games: Nurturing Golden Goose

CCPIT: A Public Service Institution Serving China's MICE Industry

The scope of China’s meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) industry, although more developed than any time in its history, will undoubtedly expand: its potential is vast.

In support of this unprecedented growth, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) will enhance its role as a public service institution to promote the “market oriented, legally administered, industrialized and internationalized” development of the MICE industry in China, said Wan Jifei, director of the CCPIT.

Wan said “market oriented” means that resource distribution will be decided by economic considerations and efficient price mechanisms in competitive markets rather than by government institutions, even though the government is still a major sponsor of a large portion of the more than 4,000 conventions and exhibitions held annually in China.

The market orientation of the MICE industry needs an open environment, which can only be safeguarded by a complete legal system. Wan said, “Proper legal administration is a necessary tool for the government to supervise markets, that is, for deciding the ‘rules of the game’; this will allow market players to compete in an open, fair and just environment.” 

Rules and regulations have been established concerning the MICE industry, including the Protective Measures of Exhibition Intellectual Property Rights and Administrative Measures on Holding Economic& Trade Fairs Abroad Approval that were issued in 2006, serving as key documents in the improvement of the industry’s legal administration.

“The goal of the market-oriented and legally administered development of the MICE industry aims at fulfilling its potential so that desired economic and social benefits can be realized,” said Wan. The focus at present is to promote the balanced growth of MICE nationwide; to organize the business in a more detailed and efficient way; and to support and encourage companies that provide specialized organizational, operating, logistics, design and other services needed by the industry.

The MICE industry in China is trying to form partnerships with world-renowned exhibition companies and is striving to improve its operational models, technologies, capital availability and personnel, according to Wan. However, in the future, the CCPIT will encourage the internationalization of the industry, encouraging more Chinese companies to hold exhibitions designed, organized and operated by themselves.

The MICE industry in China has experienced strong and steady growth in recent years. In 1997, there were about 1,000 exhibitions and conventions; within ten years that number had grown to 3,800. There is now more than 2.5 million square metres of exhibition space available, exceeding that of Germany, which is known as the “kingdom of exhibitions.”

The rapid expansion of the MICE industry in China, however, is not without its problems. Large, influential exhibitions requiring an area of more than 100,000 square metres are limited in number; so it is difficult to achieve economies of scale in these productions. Supply of platform-design and building, logistics and consulting services, also lag. Intellectual property rights protection (IPR) has been a major concern of exhibitors.

万季飞：中国会展业扔有提升空间

文/薛京晶

2007中国冶金工业技术装备博览会、2007第三届国际啤酒饮料设备及酿造技术博览会、2007中国国际管道管材展览会、第18届中国（上海）国际建材及室内装饰展览会、2007上海半导体工业展览会……这些极具影响力的会展是近年来中国会展业保持快速发展势头的一个缩影。

中国贸促会的研究显示，到2020年，中国会展业总收入将超过1000亿元。中国贸促会会长万季飞对此表示，就会展业的规范性、竞争力、效益水平而言，中国会展业还有较大的提升空间。今后，中国贸促会将扮演好公共服务机构的角色，力推会展业走“市场化、法制化、产业化、国际化”之路。

随着改革开放以来，中国会展业实现了快速发展，特别是近年来，在经济全球化和中国经济社会迅速发展的推动下，其总规模以年均近20%的速度增长，出现了一批知名展览会、一批富有活力的展览城市和以京津、上海、广州为中心的三个会展产业带。

回顾这些走过的发展历程，万季飞会长深有感触，他认为，总体来看，中国会展业一个明显特点是规模迅速扩张。1997年，中国内地全年举办的各类展览会数量第一次达到1000个，而10年后的2006年，这一数字一跃升至3800个。同时，国内知名展览会不断增多，规模也越办越大，除广交会外，有一些展览会展出面积达到20万平方米。其次，场馆建设发展可谓迅速。相关数据显示，目前中国可使用展馆面积已超过250万平方米，超过素有“展览王国”之称的德国。部分展馆已经具备举办大型国际展览会的相应配套设施。

除了贸促系统组织展览会之外，展览公司、专业协会、中介机构、广告公司、媒体、群众机构等纷纷涉足会展业，大多取得了相当突出的业绩，这也使国内会展业发展呈现出主体多元化的特点。同时，与国际会展业发展轨迹一样，中国会展业也经历了综合性为主向专业性为主的转变，培育了一批集中反映特定行业或相关产业发展水平的专业性展览会，如汽车展、工业展、纺织服装展等，其中一些得到了国际权威机构的认可。

会展业发展另一个特点是国际化程度不断增强。中国加入世贸组织后，国际会展业普遍看好中国展览市场，以多种形式积极参与进来。一方面，越来越多的国外参展商、观众前来参加、参观中国的知名展览会，中国境内展览会的国际化程度不断增强；另一方面，国际知名展览公司纷纷投资中国展览市场，在中国设立代表处、分公司等，与中国的展览公司合作经营场馆、举办展览。

在中国会展业不断壮大的同时，其法制化进程也在加快。近年来，中央和各省市规范会展业发展的政策法规陆续出台，会展行业服务标准制订工作逐步推进，会展市场的运行和管理逐步走上了规范化的道路。万季飞会长同时也指出，就会展业的规范性、竞争力、效益水平而言，中国与会展业较发达的国家相比有一定差距，还有较大的提升空间。对于今后的发展，首要的一点是，中国贸促会将与政府有关部门沟通，积极推动展览立法工作，为会展业发展提供切实可行的法律保障，打击商业欺诈和不正当竞争。除了法律法规的外部约束之外，行业自律也是必不可少的。中国贸促会将推动成立全国性展览行业协会，以协调办展活动，规范办展行为。要维护会展行业的正常秩序，还需要贸促会稳步推进会展业的统计、审计工作，建设高效、透明的展览统计、信息发布体系和信誉体系。

推动中国会展业健康持续发展，还有一个不可回避的方面就是国际合作与交流，增强中国会展业的国际竞争力，并筹建中国国际商会会展专业委员会，为相关会员提供更加专业、到位的行业服务，维护会员的合法权益和会展业界的正当利益。

产业化的会展业需要高素质的会展专业人才。为满足这方面的需求，还要加大培训工作力度，引入会展业发达国家的管理经验和系统化的会展理论，力图培养出高层次复合型的会展人才。