The event is sponsored by Chengdu Municipal People’s Government and Sichuan Provincial Department of Commerce. Against the backdrop of the global financial crisis, the relatively stable and highly promising market in China has become an economic growth engine for businesses. The International Furniture Fair Chengdu serves as a preferred platform for companies seeking to acquire a share of the Chinese market.
Jiangdan, general manager of the organizing committee of Chengdu New East Exhibition Co., Ltd., said that approximately 900 exhibitors across several industry sectors including finished furniture, woodworking machinery, raw and auxiliary materials as well as engineering will take part in this year’s 120,000 square meter fair. Meanwhile, the four-day event is expected to attract more than 150,000 visitors and buyers, driven by the fair’s established and systematic invitation mechanism that assures the presence of professional buyers.
This year, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the Pennsylvania Hardwoods Development Council, the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) and nine American lumber producers will attend the International Furniture Fair Chengdu for the first time. Chen Xizhen, Chief Executive Officer of AHEC’s Southeast Asia and Greater China office, said the U.S. is the now the largest hardwood producer and exporter worldwide, and that they have been attaching great importance to the Chinese market, as exports to the market account for 34% of their global total. “We are optimistic about the central and western China market, as it is such a large furniture production base.”
Netherlands-based Akzo Nobel has attended the Fair many times before. Yuan Ye, business director of the company’s Greater China region said, “We have attended many furniture fairs in both China and abroad and collaborated. The Chengdu fair stands out from others like it in China, in that it focuses on services in the domestic market. Both exhibitors and exhibits reflect China’s domestic furniture demand and are becoming a major driving force for the domestic market.”
