Unlocking global business opportunities in China

As China accelerates its opening-up post-pandemic, we shine a light on the innovative and exciting ways that RX Greater China is opening doors for international companies in China and helping Chinese exporters to compete on the world stage.

Hello China, Hello World

Earlier this year, RXGC launched its ‘Hello China, Hello World 2024’ campaign to drive international exchange, co-operation and innovation across 12 industry sectors including automotive manufacturing, electronic manufacturing, material manufacturing, medical & healthcare, printing & packaging, gifts & retail, and food & beverage. The response has been phenomenal, with several flagship events setting new attendance highs, and record numbers of Chinese exporters taking advantage of RX’s global trade events and digital platforms.

“During the first half in 2024, our wholly owned companies and joint ventures brought together some 1,900 international exhibitors, 22 international pavilions and over 23,000 international visitors from over 100 countries and regions at our events in China, promoting business connections, transactions, insights sharing, and learning.” said Michael Cheng, President, RXGC.

“This year, we are stepping up our efforts through new overseas launches, industry partnerships, national pavilions, strategic co-located events, country days, factory visits, association meetings, matchmaking sessions for overseas buyers, and much more. With China's strong economic growth potential, we are well-positioned to help companies capitalize on a new era of trade and export possibilities.”

World leading events

The first six months of 2024 has been a whirlwind for RXGC, our partners and customers, with several of our flagship events connecting record numbers of buyers and sellers, not to mention winning prestigious awards.

In February, SinoCorrugated, was honoured with the ‘Shanghai Excellent Exhibition’ award by the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Industry Association. SinoCorrugated is part of the 7-in-1 Wepack series of packaging exhibitions held once a year alternatively in Shanghai and Shenzhen to connect global packaging professionals across the industry supply chain. WEPACK 2024 registered 100 industry association delegations and 57,876 Chinese and international visits in April in Shenzhen to discover new materials, technologies and finished products, and learn about the latest trends and innovations at the World Corrugated Forum and the World Corrugated Awards. Commenting on the event, Marco Bertola, CEO of Fosber S.p.A. said: “SinoCorrugated was always bustling and there were lots of visitors. Within the three days, we received many high-quality buyers from both China and overseas. We are undergoing further negotiations. We will attend SinoCorrugated next year.”

At the Spring 2024 edition of the world-leading China Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF) in Shanghai, a record 4,724 companies showcased their cutting-edge medical and healthcare solutions to over 310,000 Chinese and international visits across the supply chain. The event was a hub for collaboration, innovation, and exploration, significantly boosting the global medical device trade. Mr. Zhao Yao, Managing Director of Omron Healthcare (China) Co., Ltd., said: "CMEF is an excellent platform to capture the development trends of China's medical and healthcare industry and promote exchange and cooperation with business partners in the medical industry."

In July, it was the turn of the 117th China Daily-Use Articles Trade Fair to reflect the return of industry confidence, filling 15 exhibition halls in Shanghai with 2,490 manufacturers and distributors of home furnishing products. The show attracted over 100,000 visits from department stores and other traditional and emerging retail outlooks sourcing the latest trends and innovations in tableware., cooking utensils, storage, smart appliances, textiles, and more.

Supporting Chinese exporters in global markets

2024 is also on course to be a bumper year for RXGC in helping Chinese enterprises to break into key overseas markets and boost exports.

Thanks to our strong government and regional networks, 237 RX events around the world have been approved for government support in 2024, enabling more of our Chinese customers to enjoy subsidies of 70-100% on their overseas stand costs. To help them succeed we offer comprehensive support, including arranging business matchmaking, factory visits, and meetings with local authorities and potential partners.

We also regularly help regional trade groups from various industries to organise trade pavilions at our overseas events. For instance, when a group of wine growers from Shaoxing wanted to promote their wine in Japan, we helped them plan and promote an international pavilion at JFEX 2024, Japan’s leading international food and beverage expo, organized by RX Japan. As the result, they generated over USD 2 million in intended purchase orders and plan to expand their pavilion at the next edition.

To speed up trade opportunties for Chinese exporters, we’re taking our flagship events global. In September 2024, RX Huabo is launching Asia Gift Fair in Jakarta, targeting Indonesia’s rapidly growing consumer goods market. With 30 years of experience as China’s largest gifts and home fair organizer RX Huabo expects over 400 exhibitors and 10,000 international visitors.

And in November, ASEAN’s packaging industry will receive a huge boost with the second edition of WEPACK ASEAN in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, reflecting the successful format of WEPACK, the World Packing Industry Expo in China, covering the entire global packaging industry chain.

Driving innovation and new business opportunities

RXGC’s s six-in-one mega event for advanced manufacturing in Shenzhen is a good example of our ability to drive innovation and new business opportunities by integrating resources and optimising supply chains in key growth markets.

Recognising the synergy between our automotive, electronics, display and new materials events, we brought together six flagship events in South China’s strategically important Greater Bay Area in October 2023 for the first time, including NEPCON ASIA, C-Touch & Display, Film & Tape Expo, Automotive World China, and AMTS & AHTE South China. So brilliantly did our operations team rise to the logistical challenge that they were awarded RX’s Global Award for Operational Excellence in 2023.

The mega event will generate even more opportunities for innovation and collaboration in 2024 thanks to a strategic cooperation agreement between RXGC and the China Printed Circuit Association (CPCA). CPCA Show Plus 2024 will be held alongside RX's six connected shows at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center from November 6-8, 2024, creating a global showcase of innovations connecting you across key industries in the world of advanced manufacturing.

Matching international buyers and sellers

TAP is RXGC’s unique Targeted Attendee Program. It’s the job of our TAP team to get to know key buyers in high potential markets, understand their purchasing needs, and match them with exhibitors and suppliers through face to face and online meetings throughout the show cycle. This customer-centric service is highly regarded in China’s events industry and is even a case study in the MICE curriculum at Chinese universities.

“Over the years, we have developed close relationships with many buyers from China and overseas who resort to us not only for their sourcing and purchasing needs, but also for help with various aspects of their visit, including visa applications, hotel bookings, translation services and more,” explained Sr. VRC & TAP Manager Linda Gao. In 2023, our TAP team facilitated about 7,000+ business matchmaking sessions between nearly 6,000 TAP buyers and 1,900 exhibitors across more than 10 exhibitions.

A TAP buyer from Shuanghui Group who attended PACKCON 2024 in Shenzhen said: “This is the largest exhibition that we have participated in since the pandemic which caters to the packaging needs of our group. We saw many new packaging technologies and made many excellent connections in the packaging industry which we believe will bring a qualitative leap in the packaging quality of our enterprise. Thank you for your enthusiastic introductions on site, which enabled our team to source high-quality resources efficiently.”

Exhibitors also appreciate the TAP team’s business-building services. Reflecting on NEPCON China 2024, Fuji Machine China representative said: “Thank you RX for providing such a win-win platform. Such communication opportunities are valuable and rare. Our participation in automotive electronics components matchmaking meetings helped us to understand our customers true needs and will play a positive role in future transactions.”

Supporting a low carbon future

RX is a signatory of the Net Zero Carbon Events pledge, and the Climate Pledge which commits us to reach net zero no later than 2040. In line with the RX Roadmap to Net Zero, RXGC is committed to making our events more sustainable, and to using our event platforms to engage and influence the industries we serve.

In 2021 we launched the S-Future platform to enhance cross-sector understanding and communication about sustainability and support businesses and individuals in their low carbon transition. The platform has since produced over 100 sustainability videos and published over 750 pieces of online content, accumulating nearly one million views on social media.

In 2023 we established the RXGC Sustainability Committee and launched our ‘Go Green’ initiative providing detailed guidance on green practices across our businesses, and in our event delivery. And in May 2024, we took an important step forward with the launch of our ‘Low Carbon Exhibition Participation Guide’, offering exhibitors and visitors comprehensive suggestions on everything from sustainable stand construction and waste management to green travel and prioritising digital over printed materials.

We're also using our events to boost industry awareness of low carbon solutions. Among them, NEPCON China 2024 introduced a new CEO Summit focused on green transformation in electronics manufacturing. Meanwhile, Aluminium China 2024, Asia’s top aluminium event and online B2B platform, embraced the theme ‘Green Smart Aluminium, Connecting the World, Leading the Future,’ to help shape a smart, sustainable future for the aluminium industry. We’re excited to share that both events also broke all previous attendance records!

With a diversity of events serving 12 key sectors, RXGC is your gateway to new partnerships, growth and innovation in China. Check out our full calendar of events for more information.