Westward

Koelnmesse and the China National Hardware Association (CNHA) plan to inaugurate a sister event to the China International Hardware Show (CIHS) as soon as next year. The CIHS West will take place in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, from 23 – 25 April 2014. The trade fair is expected to attract around 400 exhibitors on an exhibition space of some 20 000 m² and about 20 000 visitors. The event is being geared to regional preferences on both the exhibitor and the visitor side. “We don’t expect to have even a small number of international exhibitors,” said Michael Dreyer, director of Koelnmesse’s Asia regional centre, at a press conference. The new fair is very much in line with the country’s economic policy, which aims to stimulate growth inland, not just in the booming regions along the coast. There are 200 mio inhabitants in the region surrounding the two megacities of Chengdu and Chongqing.