Global exhibition CEO summit hosted in Shanghai

SHANGHAI, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The Global Exhibition CEO Shanghai Summit opened Monday in the eastern Chinese city after a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19.

The three-day event is being hosted by the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Industries Association (SCEIA). It is focusing on hot topics such as embracing digitalization, innovating venue services, and better helping small and medium-sized enterprises to go global through exhibition platforms.

The resumption of the summit is an important sign of the full recovery of China's convention and exhibition industry and its return to the center of the global exhibition market, bringing new opportunities to the global convention and exhibition industry, said Chen Xianjin, an official from the SCEIA.

Over the past decade, China has been the fastest-growing exhibition market and almost all internationally renowned exhibition enterprises have set up subsidiaries in Chinese cities such as Shanghai, according to Chen.

Since the beginning of this year, Shanghai's convention and exhibition industry has recovered rapidly. Data from the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce shows that the city's main exhibition venues plan to hold nearly 300 exhibitions this year, with an exhibition area of more than 14 million square meters.

The Global Exhibition CEO Shanghai Summit was held annually from 2014 to 2019, attracting more than 1,000 corporate executives and government officials from over 20 countries and regions over the years.