AEFI SIGNS A PARTNERSHIP WITH EUPIC TO PROMOTE ITALIAN TRADE FAIRS IN CHINA AND PARTICIPATES IN THE 13th EU-CHINA BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY COOPERATION FAIR

AEFI-Associazione Esposizioni e Fiere Italiane will be participating in the next edition of the EU-China Business & Technology Cooperation Fair, from 19 to 24 September in Chengdu, one of China’s most highly populated cities, the capital of Sichuan province and a major economic and commercial centre.
Now in its thirteenth edition, the EU-China Business and Technology Cooperation Fair is a key event for the international trade fair industry, an opportunity to venture further into the Chinese market and strengthen the economic relations between the States of the European Union and China.
This year will see a particular spotlight on the trade fair industry, in line with the city’s development objectives in the sector.
Always focused on the theme of internationalisation, AEFI took the opportunity to be present at the event which will bring together over 1500 participants, including companies, governmental and regional government representatives, business associations, experts in EU-China cooperation, universities, research institutes and organisations involved in the development of western and northern China, members of the European Commission and members of the European Union in search of potential collaborations and partnerships with their counterparts.
An important opportunity to get closer to the Chinese market and to introduce the local business community to the Italian trade fair sector and its specificities, at a time when the opening of the two infrastructural corridors between the Far East and Europe is becoming increasingly topical.
The EU-China Business & Technology Cooperation Fair initiative is managed by EUPIC-EU Project Innovation Center – a non-profit organisation founded in Chengdu in 2006 as part of Asia Invest II, the European Union project to promote business cooperation between the EU and Asia – with which, very recently, AEFI signed a collaboration agreement with the aim of supporting the internationalisation of Italian trade fairs on strategic markets.
“For Italy, the Chinese market represents a great opportunity, and vice versa, over recent years business relationships between Italy and China have grown and gone from strength to strength. The agreement with EUPIC is part of the Association’s internationalisation policy, with the aim of supporting the development of our companies”, comments Ettore Riello, AEFI President. With this agreement, AEFI intends to facilitate the coming together of the two countries, offering Italian companies growth opportunities for their business, through dedicated projects“.
With this presence in Chengdu, AEFI’s internationalisation policy continues in the Country of the Dragon; contacts and dialogues have been active for several years, intensifying recently thanks to President Ettore Riello’s participation in the Shanghai Summit last June, with the aim of analysing the implications for the exhibition industry of the Belt & Road Initiative.
In Chengdu, Pietro Piccinetti, AEFI Internationalisation Committee Coordinator, will attend the Sino-European Cooperation for Convention and Exhibition Industry Round Table, scheduled for the afternoon of 19 September.
China, with its huge market, represents an incredible opportunity for Italy, and trade fairs are a fundamental tool not only to guarantee an on-territory presence, but also to increase the number of Chinese operators attending events taking place in Italy.
“With 35 member districts, AEFI organises over 1000 events a year, involving 200,000 exhibitors and over 20 million visitors from all over the world, a key entity within the Italian trade fair industry“, said Pietro Piccinetti. “Without forgetting the numerous initiatives promoted by AEFI to seize upon the emerging trends and specificities of the Chinese demand, shortening the distance between producers and consumers in logistic/commercial terms and constantly monitoring regulatory evolution. In this regard, the Association also plans to attend the meetings of the delegation of the Ministry of Economic Development, set to take place in Chengdu in the coming days.“
Confirming the mutual interest in developing the collaboration between Italy and China, the invitation to the AEFI President, Ettore Riello, to present the Italian trade fair industry at the China Convention and Exhibition Industry International Trade Forum in conjunction with the China International Import Expo (CIIE ), the event co-organised by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China and the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, to be held in Shanghai at the beginning of November.

AEFI – Associazione Esposizioni e Fiere Italiane, a private non-profit Association, was established in 1983 with the goal of generating synergies between the most important Italian exhibition districts. AEFI would like to be seen as a privileged partner for operators and institutions alike, and its role is to support members through the development of activities and programmes in the sphere of training, marketing, promotion and research, as well as to provide services for trade fairs through the activities of its Committees: Exhibition Hub Technical Committee, Legal-Administrative Committee, Internationalisation Committee and Trade Fairs Network Committee.
On the internationalisation front, AEFI supports members thanks to agreements with strategic markets. To date, partnerships have been agreed with Iran, Taiwan, Lebanon, India, Thailand and South Africa, with AmCham, the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy, and with CENTREX, the International Exhibition Statistics Union. A memorandum of understanding has been signed with SACE and SIMEST.
AEFI has promoted the foundation of ISFCert, the Certification Institute for Exhibition Industry Statistics which, through rigorous methodologies, enables Italian organisers to present and recognise standardised data, in the name of transparency and reliability.
AEFI represents Italian trade fairs in UFI – Union of International Fairs. Chaired by Ettore Riello, AEFI includes 35 member exhibition districts, which organise over 1000 events a year over an overall exhibition area of 4.2 million square metres. Nearly all international and national trade fairs which take place each year in Italy are held in AEFI-member exhibition districts.