Site of the 2023 Qingdao Design Festival. [Photo/Qingdao News]

Qingdao's exhibition industry has been making a strong recovery, with 301 offline events held from January to November.

This makes the city one of the top in China in terms of exhibition activities.

To bolster industrial growth, Qingdao has attracted renowned companies from home and abroad through exhibitions about sectors like smart home appliances, biopharmaceuticals, and medical equipment.

As of October, Qingdao's industrial exhibitions had resulted in the signing of 270 projects totaling 7.8 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) this year.

Notably, amidst challenges posed by the pandemic, Qingdao was the first Chinese city to participate in international exhibitions. Two delegations were sent to Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia for exhibition and business activities, resulting in fruitful cooperation agreements with 23 companies from Singapore, Malaysia, and other countries.

Authorities have introduced innovative exhibition investment promotion strategies by helping prominent local exhibition companies establish a comprehensive global buyer database with over 3.5 million buyers. This has benefitted both the international market and local development.

Qingdao's exhibition economy has flourished with improved policies, upgraded venues, and optimized industry services. Initiatives include subsidies for consumer-oriented exhibitions, intelligent transformation of exhibition halls, and streamlined service processes, driving standardized industry development.