Parts expo attracts heavyweights

The China International Auto Parts Expo will open on Sept 24 at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing.

The only show in the industry sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, the China International Auto Parts Expo (CIAPE) is set for Sept 24 to 26 at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing as a forum for top domestic and foreign auto manufacturers, distributors and purchasers, as well as CEOs from multinational companies.

Thirty-two auto industry associations from 10 countries and regions and top global auto parts groups will join 20 of their business association peers from China at the expo, said Zhang Ji, a senior official in charge of machinery equipment industry of the Ministry of Commerce.

"The expo has high-profile participants as exhibitors must have an annual domestic sales of above 10 million yuan or an export value of $1 million, Zhang said. "They must have no illegal actions that infringe on intellectual property rights (IPR)."

The expo will set up an IPR protection office as in previous sessions to receive any violation claims from visitors and exhibitors.

Zhang added that no infringement cases were brought to the onsite office at past events.

He told China Daily that the expo aims to create an international trade and exhibition platform for China's auto parts industry, helping more enterprises go overseas and attract more to enter China.

He stressed that China has a critical need to enhance overseas sales of its auto parts and foreign shows alone are not enough.

The expo is also an import forum to attract more auto enterprises to China, which is in line with nation's opening up policy.

"More importantly, China's auto parts enterprises are often discriminated against or unfairly treated in overseas expos. For example, the exhibition areas are decreased or placed in corners, or some of the products are sealed illegally and maliciously," the department director said.

He himself was a witness when foreign auto parts company workers expelled visitors from Chinese booths, "so an independent expo is critical to domestic firms", he said.

Over the past seven years, China's auto parts industry developed rapidly, with its products entering 196 countries. Their export value grew over the period from $3.2 billion to $20.6 billion through annual growth of 36.4 percent, 8.5 percent higher than average foreign trade volume.

During the first half of this year, China's auto production and sales both hit 6 million units to become the top market in the world.

To date, a total of 2,000 enterprises have registered to join the event.