There are two obvious trends in recent years. First, China has started to have some very well-known brands at international exhibitions. More and more well-known Chinese brands are appearing in the core areas, in areas where international top brands are concentrated. In particular, some typical domestic representative companies, such as Huawei, Dahua, Hikvision, PetroChina, Sinopec, etc., are representatives of well-known brands in various industries. They were originally only famous in China, but now they are also well-known internationally, and they have been recognized by the international market. These companies were not well-known internationally before, and it was difficult for them to get a position in the core area of international top exhibitions. But now international organizers are very willing to give them a position in the core area and invite them to participate in the exhibition. Second, a more obvious change is that the current exhibitors are becoming more and more independent, probably because the “second generation of exhibitions” have also grown up and their English level has also improved. In the past, you might have seen people sitting there from the beginning to the end at the Chinese booth, and the company bosses often did not participate in on-site communication. But now there is a particularly obvious change that the bosses of these companies are very active at the booth, and more and more people are communicating independently in English. People who used to be behind the scenes are now coming to the front.
In recent years, there have been two major changes in Chinese companies’ overseas exhibitions. One is the pattern, and the other is the vision. In terms of pattern, in the early years, Chinese companies went abroad to participate in exhibitions, mostly to Europe and the United States to “learn from experience”. As Chinese companies have made breakthroughs in more and more fields, they have changed from the original “pilgrimage” learning to display and exchange, and even in some fields, Chinese exhibitors have become unique. For example, at the 2019 Munich International Logistics Fair (Transport Logistic), Chinese exhibitors who displayed “Belt and Road” and “China-Europe Express” logistics equipment became the focus of the entire industry. In addition, more and more Chinese companies have attracted attention with their dazzling booth construction and advanced exhibits technology, winning unanimous recognition from overseas peers and audiences, and the international reputation of Chinese companies is increasing day by day.
bauma 2019 attracted 359 Chinese exhibitors, including big companies such as Sany Heavy Industry, Zoomlion Heavy Industry, Guangxi Liugong, and XCMG. At the Munich International Robotics and Automation Technology Fair (Automatica), excellent Chinese brands Siasun and Harbin Institute of Technology appeared on the same stage, attracting the attention of many European and American companies. At the Munich International Photonics Fair (LASER World of PHOTOICS), domestic companies such as Wuhan Raycus, Huagong Group, and Han’s Laser not only displayed new technological products, but also showed the unique style of Chinese laser companies to their peers around the world through the “Meet the Light of China” event. “Made in China” is gradually upgrading to “Made in China”, and Chinese companies are also transforming and upgrading in the process of continuous exploration. A large number of outstanding national enterprises have gone abroad to display their unique products and services on the international stage, making “Chinese Red” a beautiful landscape that cannot be ignored!
In terms of vision, the Chinese nation is one of the most hardworking and brave nations in the world. Wherever there are business opportunities in every corner of the world, you can see Chinese companies. The world exhibition industry is undergoing a transformation to a more segmented market. In the early days, Chinese companies were more active in exhibitions in Germany, the United States and the BRICS countries. Now, exhibitions in more countries and regional markets such as Northern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, etc. have also attracted the attention of Chinese companies. By deeply exploring different markets, Chinese companies have continuously expanded their international vision and achieved the ultimate in promotion.
In recent years, the changes and trends of Chinese companies’ overseas exhibitions can be summarized into three characteristics: First, they tend to participate in specialized exhibitions. Compared with comprehensive exhibitions, highly specialized exhibitions can greatly increase the chances of companies accurately locating target customers in exhibitions; second, the target market has shifted from the original European and American markets to emerging markets. With the saturation and increasing competition in the European and American markets, Chinese companies have turned their attention to various emerging markets, such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East or Latin America, to seek new business opportunities; third, the autonomy of companies’ exhibitions has increased. With the increasing experience of overseas exhibitions, Chinese companies have gradually shifted from group exhibitions to independent exhibitions, which are more free and autonomous.
Jia Changle: The changes I feel in Chinese companies’ overseas exhibitions are from the outside to the inside. More and more companies have begun to pay attention to the image of overseas exhibitions, and there have been obvious changes in the exhibition area, booth construction, and the overall appearance and work attitude of the participants. Some well-known Chinese companies have done more preparation for overseas exhibitions than some international big-name companies. From the perspective of small and medium-sized enterprises, they generally apply for a standard booth with an area of 9 square meters. But even so, they now have higher exhibition requirements for themselves. For example, exhibitors begin to participate in on-site activities, take the initiative to go out and integrate into the scene, and have a higher investment in the image of the booth.