On March 17, Chengdu held a symposium on the development of Chengdu's exhibition industry to analyze the current scenario of the industry. In 2019, Chengdu held 866 major exhibition activities, a year-on-year increase of 25.7%; the total revenue of the exhibition industry reached 133.26 billion yuan, an increase of 22.0%.

More than 4000 companies participate in the annual food and drinks fair in Chengdu.( Photo/Jiemian)  

In recent years, the rapid development of China's exhibition industry has greatly promoted the opening-up and economic development. By 2020, Sichuan will hold more than 1,800 major exhibition activities each year, with a total exhibition area of 9.3 million square meters; the total annual revenue will exceed 266 billion yuan, accounting for 3% of the province's GDP and 7% of the province's added value of service industry.

Mechanical arms on display at the Third China Western International Import and Export Expo.(Photo/Xinhua)

Chengdu ranked fourth in the 2018 city exhibition industry competitiveness index and was selected among the ‘2019 China’s most competitive exhibition city’ alongside Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and others.

The 22nd Chengdu International Auto Show

During the epidemic, Chengdu canceled or postponed more than 100 exhibition activities and the revenue growth rate of the exhibition industry was expected to drop by 6 percentage points compared with the expected target of the year. Nevertheless, in 2020, Chengdu will still have 920 major exhibition activities, with a total exhibition area of more than 12.8 million square meters, "up against the market". These will include 220 international exhibitions, 13 UFI certified exhibitions and 15 ICCA standard international conferences.(By Edina Liang)