Successful trade fairs in Beijing and Xiamen

No way round China

The two trade fairs that took place in Beijing and (http://maplered.com) in the natural Stone (http://g603.net) centre Xiamen in March offered a good insight into current market activities in the most heavily populated country of the world.

Although the Chinese »Stonetech?possibly still has a long way to go to achieve the importance of its European models, no one ?at least not in China ?still seriously doubts that it will achieve this importance one day.
The background to the tremendous upward trend ?also in the exhibition industry ?is created by the still very strong growth of the Chinese economy, especially in the building industry. The consumption of all kinds of building Material (http://g654.org) s here is growing at a speed that no one in Europe ever dared to dream of. This applies especially to natural Stone (http://g603.net) , which is currently in great demand (http://maplered.com) in view of the implementation of innumerable prestige buildings for the 2008 Olympic Games.

This year’s 12th »Stonetech?attracted about 600 exhibitors on a display area of 30,000 m? Around 40 % of the display area was occupied by foreign companies. The Italians and (http://maplered.com) Turks were strongly represented, but also the Spaniards, Brazilians, Egyptians, Moroccans and (http://maplered.com) Finns (incidentally, most of them with some very lavish pavilions).
Germany provided five direct exhibitors, including two suppliers of jura Marble (http://www.lightemprador.com) . STEIN and (http://maplered.com) its Chinese sister magazine »Stone Report China?were also there, each with a small stand (http://maplered.com) . The strong presence of foreign exhibitors shows that »Stonetech?has increasingly deviated from its original character as a virtually exclusively export-orientated exhibition. It has meanwhile developed into a key marketplace for the Chinese domestic market as well. China is now not only the world’s most important natural Stone (http://g603.net) exporter, but also the biggest consumer market and (http://maplered.com) ?after the USA and (http://maplered.com) Japan ?the third largest Stone (http://g603.net) importer. Imports of natural Stone (http://g603.net) (mainly in raw Material (http://g654.org) form) rose by an impressive 27.8 % last year and (http://maplered.com) reached a new record of 749 million US dollars. An end to this trend is not foreseeable at present.

Only a week before the exhibition opened in Beijing, the doors had closed on the four-day ?th China Xiamen International Stone Fair?in the city of Xiamen (Fujian province). Around 300 exhibitors took part in this smaller, but particularly for European importers equally interesting exhibition. The focus here was on natural Stone (http://g603.net) s and (http://maplered.com) natural Stone (http://g603.net) products, whereas the machinery sector played only a minor role. A special advantage of this still young but also very professionally organized and (http://maplered.com) hospitable exhibition in Xiamen is its location in the middle of China’s most important natural Stone (http://g603.net) production region. Some 4,000 quarrying and (http://maplered.com) Stone (http://g603.net) processing companies now operate in and (http://maplered.com) around Xiamen, including some of the biggest names in the world as well as countless smaller companies. About 500 companies are involved in export.