Jointly organized by the China General Chamber of Commerce and the Shanghai municipal government, the annual event is expected to promote business activities between Shanghai and other areas of China, meanwhile creating opportunities for domestic companies to enter the overseas markets.

"Hopefully, the fair will help promote new consumption concepts and show novel trends in the domestic consumer goods market," said Vice-Mayor Feng Guoqin.

Besides a number of local companies such as Hualian Group and Meilin Aquarius Group, more than 20 provinces like Jiangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and Jinlin, with apparent ambitions to enter the Shanghai market, have presented a good variety of their local specialties at the fair.

"We need such a platform to showcase our products and explore market opportunities," said Xiao Siru, deputy secretary-general of the Jiangxi provincial government. Xiao added that fair organizers need to make more efforts to summon local and even overseas buyers in substantial numbers.

Organizers have arranged several minor supporting expositions for the four-day fair, including a gifts, stationery and housewares show, a modern commercial facility and technology exhibition and a supermarket food fair.

Another highlight of the fair is an international licensing show, where various licensing business models, involving a good many familiar animated figures like Snoopy, Doraemon, Crayon Shinchan and Chibi Marukochan, are being shown to help teach the domestic market about licensing as a business concept.

(China Daily November 7, 2002)