China's first commerce and retailing summit forum will be held Friday in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province.

Sponsored by the China General Chamber of Commerce and the provincial government, the forum took "status quo and development trends of China's large-scale retailing and super shopping center" as the major theme, said an official with the organizing committee.

The topics on the forum will focus on the development trend and  pattern of China's retailing trade, methods for expansion, and the establishment of super shopping centers and their impacts on traditional department stores.

The official said a number of experts and entrepreneurs would be invited to the forum, of whom Ren Xingzhou, deputy director of Development Research Center of the State Council's market economy institute, and Prof. Huang Guoxiong from People's University of China, would give key-note speeches.

China's retailing sector has been growing steadily since the 1990s. At the same time, foreign companies have moved into China's market and so far over 70 percent of the world's top 50 retailers have established in the city.

According to China's commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dec. 11, 2004 is the deadline for China's retailing market to be completely open to foreign capital.
 
(Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2004)