Li Min

Written By Li Min / Translated By Xie Zongming

A good exhibition can invigorate a city. Meetings， Incentives， Conferencing， Exhibitions Industry （MICE industry） has always been the breadwinner of a city and the barometer of the economy. It has unique influences on the industry， economy， development， and consumption of a city. As one of the 3 foreign-involving key forums & exhibitions that have been majorly supported by China， China-ASEAN Expo （CAEXPO）， whose permanent venue is Nanning， is undoubtfully the bellwether of the local MICE industry.

With CAEXPOs development of capacity level and its extension of brand influence， utilizing the name of CAEXPO to drive the development of Guangxis MICE industry and facilitating the MICE cooperation in the China-ASEAN region will be the next mission of every “CAEXPOer”. The China-ASEAN Conference & Exhibition Industry Cooperation & Development Forum （Conference & Exhibition Forum） under the framework of the 18th CAEXPO was held for the first time， showing people not only Guangxis determination to develop MICE industry but only the answer to the question that goes “Is it the right time to invest in Guangxis MICE industry and how to invest in it？”

This is what we want to do to develop Guangxis MICE industry

Since the first CAEXPO was held， the Secretariat of China-ASEAN Expo （the Secretariat） has been in charge of crucial work about CAEXPO， such as organizing and policy implementation. In 2018， an institutional reform took place to improve the quality and efficiency of CAEXPO. The marketing functions were entirely separated from the Secretariat and became the Guangxi International Exposition Group （the Group）， leaving only the non-profit part in the Secretariat. “Let the market does its job. This is in line with the market economy，” said Hu Zhichong， Chairman of the Guangxi International Exposition Group and the Guangxi Convention and Exhibition Industry Association， during the Conference and Exhibition Forum， who added that the Group is market-oriented with two functions， namely facilitating the development of CAEXPO and driving the development of Guangxis MICE industry.

According to Hu， the Group builds its two main businesses， which are the market operations of the CAEXPO and the management of Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center， on top of those two functions. Since its establishment， the Group and the Secretariat have been co-hosting the CAEXPO to upgrade the CAEXPO and gained delightful outcomes such as setting up the Online CAEXPO. However， facing limitations like the COVID-19 pandemic and the size of the venue， Hu Zhichong said that the Group will explore the possibilities in the reforms of hosting methods， brand development and promotion， and constructing the platform for developing the MICE industry. He also added that he is looking forward to developing Guangxis MICE market with partners of all communities.

To be specific in reforming the hosting methods， the CAEXPO is expected to be multiple sessions each time. Special exhibitions would be separated from the main exhibition and specific businesses would be handed over to various enterprises. In terms of brand development， the focus will be on energizing Guangxis and Chinese enterprises， enhancing brand development in first-tier cities. “It is needed for the CAEXPO to reach out of Guangxi and enter the ASEAN countries， just as Boao Forum reached out of Hainan and succeeded across China. CAEXPO， as an international stage， must enter ASEAN as well. In this process， we are willing to cooperate with other companies and go international together， enriching the brand value of the CAEXPO and utilizing the brand recognition to drive the development of Guangxis MICE industry，” said Hu Zhichong.

Regarding the construction of the platform for developing the MICE industry， the Group will undertake government projects and cooperate with partners in the market to function as an incubator. According to Hu， the Group is constructing a platform called Exhibition Space， showing the information of Chinas conferences and exhibitions， to drive the development of the MICE economy. The platform is like a Toutiao in this industry. The Group is also building a one-stop service platform for investment and trade called China-ASEAN Economy and Trade Center， trying to create a business-friendly environment.

One thing worth mentioning is， the Group committed that it will give a 30%-50% subsidy on top of the local governments subsidies to the exhibition host. “Many hosts have revenue of billions of RMB， so the subsidy might not matter. However， it is our genuine measure to show that we want to develop Guangxis MICE market together.” said Hu Zhichong.

Just about time to invest in Guangxis MICE industry？

“Is it the time to invest in Guangxis MICE industry？ Is it worth it？” This is a question Hu Zhichong brought forward in the Conference and Exhibition Forum. In his opinion， Guangxi has three advantages in developing the MICE industry. First， Guangxis immature market makes the industry a blue ocean. Second， Guangxi has featured industries， allowing it to organize new exhibitions of agriculture， general health， tourism， and featured food ingredients. Third， Guangxi has a natural advantage in the ASEAN market. Hu said， “Organizing exhibitions in Guangxi not only attracts the market in Southwestern China but also connects to the ASEAN market. Entering Guangxis market is halfway to entering the ASEAN market. If we work together toward this goal， I believe we will finally have our gains.”

But to answer the question “Is it worth it？”， maybe the already-entered companies are more convincing.

“I think Nanning is an honest place. Organizing exhibitions here is easy.” Zhang Jun， Chairman of Sungoal Exhibition and Convention （Sungoal）， came to Nanning in 2008， for which he represents the enterprises who entered Nannings MICE industry early. For 13 years， Sungoal has stayed in Nanning and made a brand of an auto exhibition. He said with a smile that he could be counted as the spokesman of Nannings MICE industry. He said that the exhibition organizers are difficult under this pandemic but the companies are backed by the government， ensuring the exhibitions are held safely and orderly.

“Sungoals entry to Guangxi makes it a representative of private companies that have developed along with Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center. Sungoal is the company that has benefited from Nannings development. For this reason， Im willing to endorse Nannings MICE industry，” said Zhang Jun at the Conference and Exhibition Forum.

The forum also witnessed the signing of the Agreement on the Strategic Cooperation of Conference and Exhibition Industry， the signing of the Framework Agreement on Conference and Exhibition Programs Cooperation， the signing of the Entry Agreement to the Nanning International Conference， Exhibition， and Service Industry Cluster， and the launching ceremony of the Nanning International Conference， Exhibition， and Service Industry Cluster， etc. These cooperating companies are proving with actions that it is time to invest in Guangxis MICE industry.

Facilitating Guangxis MICE industry must consider ASEANs position

“If were organizing exhibitions in Guangxi， were not only facing the Guangxis market but also the ASEAN market. We need to be more open-minded on this more international platform，” said Liu Guoliang， Chairman of Hannover Milano Fairs China. He indicated that the ASEAN economy kept developing at a fast speed before the pandemic， bringing the huge potential to the MICE market in ASEAN countries. Indonesia， Thailand， Malaysia， and Singapore all have the economic size to support the development of high-quality exhibitions.

Maybe it is the promising future of the ASEAN market that allows Guangxi， the region connecting Southwestern China and the ASEAN market， to grab the attention of MICE giants like Hannover Milano Fairs and GL events. Obviously， ASEAN is of crucial importance. How to use this advantage though？

“Lets have a look at the main imports and exports of China and ASEAN. This is significant. Here， we can see the mechanical and electrical products have the highest ratio. If we were to organize an exhibition covering the ASEAN region， this theme would be viable，” said Liu Guoliang. Sha Yiwen， Chief Operating Officer of GL events China， has the same opinion. According to Sha， “from the imports and exports statistics of China and ASEAN， we can discover so many future opportunities.”

However， the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly shocked the global MICE industry. The further development of Guangxis MICE industry and the cooperation of the China-ASEAN MICE industry will face a new situation. Chung Wing Hee， Chief Representative for Mainland China of Hong Kong Trade Development Council， shared the opinion that the future China-ASEAN MICE industry must adapt to the regular pandemic control and prevention， accelerating digital transformation and implementing cooperation on basic projects investment.

What does regular mean？ According to Chung， it can only be represented by standardization. Currently， China has gradually created a “China Standard” in pandemic control and prevention. Organizing exhibitions under those standards will ensure safety and order. The experience and standard can also be shared with ASEAN countries. The pandemic has boosted the digital transformation of the MICE industry. From as big as online exhibitions and AI-assisted trade matchmaking to as small as technological equipment like electric table cards and AI translators， signs have shown that the digital transformation of the MICE industry is the future. “In the past few years， China is keen on participating in the infrastructure projects of ASEAN countries. Likewise， we can also contribute to bringing investment for the venue construction of China-ASEAN MICEs industry，” said Chung Wing Hee.

Chung also added that the development of the MICE industry relies not solely on the organizers， the service providers， and the products. The venue keeper also needs to coordinate with those sides. It is like an ecosystem. China and ASEAN have the conditions to build a healthy ecosystem of the MICE industry. “We need to utilize CAEXPO to facilitate the China-ASEAN MICE cooperation mechanism， accelerating the innovation and development，” said Chung， “because cooperation gives us stronger competitiveness.”