Dubai – China Trade Shows Boom

In its sixth year, the China Sourcing Fair is expecting 20 per cent more visitors in 2012.

As part of a growing trend, an increasing number of trade shows have lined up to provide a platform for business and trading between the China and Middle East regions.

Currently, the GCC is the second-largest trade partner to China and the region is also the world’s largest market for China-made product exports.

The Dubai-based China Sourcing Fair is currently the largest China-products exhibition in the MENA region and supplies face-to-face time with suppliers from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“The China Sourcing Fair is a sourcing platform for importers, traders, and other volume buyers who facilitate trade throughout the MENA region. Over 10,000 buyers attended the 2011 show, which included buyers such as AI Jaber Gallery, Al Harbi Group, Cisco Systems, Landmark, Jumbo Electronics, Nakheel and Rivoli group” said Bill Janeri, general manager for developing markets, Global Sources Exhibitions.

“For the past few years, buyers from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have come to rely on locally-based trade sourcing fairs as their primary means to meet China-based suppliers without having to physically travel to Asia,” he said.

The exhibition is set to feature a range of China-made products, including electronics, textiles and building materials and runs from 29 – 31 May 2012 at Dubai International Conference Centre.

In another nod to the increasing relevance of the UAE – China relationship, the world’s biggest duty free retailer Dubai Duty Free (DDF) is planning to boost its proportion of Chinese staff again this year in a bid to further tap the Chinese shopper market, the company’s vice president of finance said last month.