MOFCOM Holding the 1st News Conference of CIAPE
The press conference for China International Auto Parts Expo (CIAPE) was held on April 19, 2007 at the Conference Hall of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), P. R. China. Mr. Zhang Ji, Deputy Director General of the Department of Mechanic, Electronic and Hi-Tech Industry, has presided over the conference and answered questions from reporters.
Mr. Zhang firstly gave a briefing on the overall development of China's auto parts industry and the scale of its import and export. Currently, China has witnessed a continuous and rapid growth in its trade of automobiles and auto parts. Specifically, the export volume of these two kinds of commodities has amounted to US$15.84 billion in 2006, with an increase of 45% compared with the year 2005. However, according to Mr. Zhang, although China has seen a rapid development in its automobile industry and has boasted a multitude of auto parts enterprises with increased strength, it has fallen behind in building a platform for exhibition, exchanges, cooperation and trade for China's and foreign auto parts enterprises. The problems of low internationalization, marketization and specialization exist generally in current auto parts exhibitions, and the awareness of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection is comparatively weak in some of them. Therefore, building a State-level, international platform for exhibition and trade is an important means to display the overall strength of China's auto parts industry and to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and foreign auto parts enterprises. It will also play an active and collaborative role in enhancing the awareness of IPR protection and boosting the balance in international trade. In light of this, MOFCOM has decided to hold China International Auto Parts Expo in Beijing on November 29, 2007, and made it an annual event ever since.
When speaking of the position and objective of this forthcoming Expo, Mr. Zhang Ji said, CIAPE is the only State-level, internationally professional expo of auto parts approved by the Chinese government; and as a platform oriented to the global auto parts and after-sales markets, it is an integrated platform for exhibition, trade, technological exchanges, cooperation, intelligence import as well as IPR protection. The exhibits will be mainly auto parts and components (excluding those for motorcycles). The aim is to make the Expo become the most authoritative, effective and the best known grand event in the auto parts industry, which is well received by both Chinese and foreign auto industries and the media. And the Expo is targeted to become the first-class expo in China and an internationally renowned branded event.
Mr. Zhang has also gone into details about issues like the mode and organizational structure of the forthcoming Expo which is of wide concern to the media. The MOFCOM has, according to the directives of the State Council, reformed the mode of organizing exhibitions based on the principles of market rules, specialization and internationalization. After going through a certain procedure, the MOFCOM has selected China General Technology (Group) Holding, Limited to be the organizer of CIAPE. And the Expo has attracted extensive attention of both domestic and foreign auto industries and the media from the very beginning. Up to now, 47 Chinese and foreign automotive industry associations, enterprise groups and news media such as, The German Association of Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics (BME), the Automotive Industry Action Group, French Vehicle Equipment Industries (FIEV), China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), Bosch, Denso, General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (Group), China FAW Group Corporation, Chery and China Automotive News have all confirmed to be the co-organizers and supporters of the exposition.
This Expo will play an important role in strengthening the independent innovation ability and international competitiveness of China's auto enterprises, shifting the way of China's foreign trade growth, as well as enhancing the balance in international trade and IPR protection, said Zhang Ji, toward the end of his speech, when speaking of the prospects of the Expo.
Mainstream media such as, the People's Daily, Economic Daily, China Daily, China News Service, Economic Information Daily as well as industry media such as, China Automotive News and China Industry News have all attended the press conference.
