Macau will host its first-ever exhibition dedicated to premium quality and luxury goods in September this year. The event was unveiled yesterday at a press conference held at the Venetian Macao.
During the press conference, organizers revealed that the event will also include a series of discussions titled Hengqin Global Bay Areas Forum, which aim to continue to reinforce the partnership between Macau and Hengqin according to the plans outlined by the Central Government of the People’s Republic of China in the Master Plan of the Development of the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
As drafted, goals have been set for the “holding of an international premium-quality consumer goods expo and a world bay area forum,” as well as to “establish a convention and exhibition platform with influence across the globe.”
Another of the goals outlined in the plan aims to “support cooperation between Guangdong and Macau to establish a quality imported consumer product trading center and create an industrial ecosystem for trading quality consumer goods.”
According to Zhang Jingsong, Director-General of the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, these aims highlight a new set of opportunities for Macau to play a role in hosting or co-hosting the type of events that aim to attract clientele from China and other parts of the world.
Addressing the establishment of the first China-Macau High-quality Consumption Exhibition (CHCE) via a recorded video, Zhang said that “there is good reason to believe that, with the advantages of Macau’s opening up to the world, the huge consumer population and market advantages of Guangdong and [all of] China, as well as giving full play to the synergistic effect brought about by the Greater Bay Area and the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the first CHCE will achieve complete success,” opening the door to the possibility of international visitors being received from September this year.
Previously, Song Xiaodong, vice president of event organizer Nam Kwong Group, had noted the company’s role as a state-owned enterprise in Macau in adhering to its mission of organizing the event for the first time by “cooperating with the Trade Development Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce and the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province.”
The event will take place from September 7 to 11 in two parts, with the forum to run on September 7 and 8 and the CHCE to run from September 9 to 11.
While the latter will be hosted at the Venetian Macao Cotai Expo and Shoppes at Four Seasons, the forum will be held in Hengqin, at the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone. This forum will focus on a range of topics, including high-quality lifestyle in the Greater Bay Area, consumer trends, cross-border e-commerce, political benefits of the cooperation zone, as well as economic development in the post-pandemic era. Scientific and technological innovation, finance, accommodation, “big health,” sports and leisure, and the development of cultural tourism and the MICE industry are also part of the extensive program of debates, Q&A sessions, and keynote speeches.
Three main characteristics of CHCE
Explaining the three main characteristics or features of the CHCE, Wu Zhengping, Director-General of the Trade Development Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce said in a pre-recorded speech that the CHCE will follow a model that includes an innovative mode (adopting the “one exhibition, two places” model to combine the advantages of Macau’s system, software and hardware facilities, and provision of international services with the advantages of the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin), high-end positioning (establishing an international expo based in the Greater Bay Area and geared to the world) and being environmentally diverse (connecting upstream and downstream industry chains and creating a “business + consumption + industry” ecosystem and creating an exhibition and sales platform to promote both the domestic and international consumption cycles).
Also speaking on the topic, Wilfred Wong, president of Sands China Ltd, said that the first CHCE would be different from other large-scale expos by integrating both “B2C” (business-to-customer) and “B2B” (business-to-business) marketing models, allowing consumers to conduct transactions directly on site.
Wong also noted that the CHCE will be held on a significant date, celebrating the first anniversary of the establishment of the cooperation zone, and expressed his hopes that it will contribute “to help Macau better integrate into the overall national development and lay a solid foundation for its economic recovery after the pandemic.”
It’s no coincidence that the event also falls in the week of the mid-autumn festival, one of the most important celebrations in the annual Chinese traditional events calendar.
