How can we further enhance the driving role of exhibition economy in expanding service consumption, cultivating new consumption patterns, and improving commodity consumption quality? Recently, the Provincial Department of Commerce and 17 other departments issued the "Several Measures on Accelerating Exhibition Economy to Promote Consumption," which will take effect from September 27, 2025.
The measures propose to leverage Zhejiang's advantages in industry, openness, market, and location to accelerate high-quality development of exhibition economy, actively promote the "Follow Exhibitions to Tour Zhejiang" brand, and amplify the consumption-promoting effects of exhibition economy.
The measures propose initiatives including cultivating high-level exhibitions to attract consumer populations, developing consumer-oriented exhibitions, and creating consumption scenarios.
**Cultivating High-Level Exhibitions and Attracting Consumer Populations**
Encouraging branded development of exhibitions. High-quality hosting of two national-level exhibitions - the Global Digital Trade Expo and the China-CEEC Expo - along with provincial-level exhibitions, to rapidly build brand influence that radiates domestically and connects globally. Improving exhibition evaluation mechanisms, increasing the assessment weight of consumption-promoting effectiveness, and cultivating more exhibitions with significant consumption-driving effects.
Accelerating international development of exhibitions. Leveraging Zhejiang enterprises' overseas R&D institutions and overseas innovation incubation centers, utilizing resources from Zhejiang overseas Chinese business communities, actively inviting high-quality overseas exhibitors and visitors to participate in various exhibition activities held in Zhejiang, and enhancing the international level of exhibitions. Encouraging localities to use 10% overseas exhibitor participation as a benchmark, providing policy support based on actual conditions, and gradually increasing the proportion of overseas exhibitors.
Supporting large-scale development of exhibitions. Encouraging localities to provide policy support based on booth numbers, exhibition area, and average daily visitor numbers per exhibition. Encouraging localities to focus on increasing the scale of out-of-province participants in exhibitions and viewing, providing additional support based on the proportion of out-of-province personnel in individual exhibition activities. Supporting qualified tourist hotels to introduce targeted preferential measures for large-scale business exhibition-related services.
Accelerating professional development of exhibitions. Encouraging localities to promote integrated development of exhibitions and industries according to local conditions, supporting exhibitions with high compatibility and strong recognition with leading industries, and accelerating the creation of "one industry, one exhibition." Leveraging industry association roles, promoting coordinated development of industry and trade, continuously conducting "Ten Chains, Hundred Events, Ten Thousand Enterprises" activities, and attracting different industry populations.
Encouraging the cultivation of high-quality projects. Supporting localities in introducing internationally renowned exhibition projects such as Global Top 100 Trade Shows and UFI-certified exhibitions. Encouraging localities to provide policy support for professional exhibitions in emerging and future industry fields such as artificial intelligence, humanoid robots, biomanufacturing, and low-altitude economy that align with Zhejiang's "415X" advanced manufacturing cluster development direction, as well as themed exhibitions on intellectual property. Encouraging qualified organizers to innovate exhibition models and plan self-organized exhibitions.
**Developing Consumer-Oriented Exhibitions and Creating Consumption Scenarios**
Innovating the "Exhibition + Domestic and Foreign Trade Integration" model. Actively undertaking the Foreign Trade Quality Products China Tour series activities to help foreign trade enterprises expand domestic markets. Encouraging various exhibitions to establish "domestic and foreign trade integration" zones, reducing or waiving booth fees for participating enterprises according to policies. Actively promoting "cross-border e-commerce + exhibitions," leveraging "buy and sell globally" advantages, and promoting high-quality Zhejiang manufacturing products overseas. Encouraging localities to collaborate with platform enterprises, promoting the "offline exhibition + online purchase" model, and providing support such as reduced traffic fees.
Successfully hosting exhibition debuts, premieres, and first shows. Focusing on building two major platforms: the "Digital New Product Launch Zone" at the Global Digital Trade Expo and the "Featured Product First Exhibition Zone" at the China-CEEC Expo, establishing a service loop of "pre-exhibition matching - exhibition launch - post-exhibition implementation" for debut products. Encouraging localities to provide policy support such as booth guarantees based on the quantity and quality of debut products, premieres, and first shows by participating enterprises in individual consumer exhibitions.
**Promoting "Exhibition+" and Stimulating Consumer Vitality**
Vigorously developing exhibition "ticket stub economy." Encouraging localities to develop "ticket stub economy" based on exhibition projects, introducing preferential measures for dining, shopping, cultural tourism, and entertainment services, promoting integration of exhibitions with cultural tourism, commercial performances, and competitions, achieving coordinated development of exhibition economy with entertainment economy and event economy. Encouraging localities to launch branded "competition + exhibition" activities, supporting localities in hosting professional sports exhibitions, and enhancing the visibility and influence of Zhejiang sports events and Zhejiang-made sports equipment. Encouraging localities to vigorously cultivate "exhibition + agriculture" economy, hosting professional exhibitions around local advantageous industries such as premium tea, quality fruits, specialty livestock, and premium aquatic products, promoting more Zhejiang agricultural brand products into thousands of households and bestselling in domestic and international markets.
Strengthening coordination between exhibition activities and consumption promotion activities. Encouraging localities to hold consumption promotion themed activities such as "Come to Consume in Zhejiang" during exhibition periods, distributing consumption vouchers for dining and accommodation, better leveraging the multiplier effect of consumption vouchers, and further exploring consumption potential in dining, accommodation, and shopping.
Scientifically planning, constructing, and using exhibition venues. Guiding localities to plan and construct exhibition venues based on their industrial foundation, location conditions, and traffic flow, ensuring clear positioning and appropriate scale, firmly preventing grandiose pursuit and excessive investment. Guiding localities to promote exhibition-city integration, strengthening coordination between exhibition venues and surrounding regional spatial planning, comprehensive transportation, and cultural tourism planning, enhancing the radiating and driving functions of exhibition venues. Providing special bond support for qualified new exhibition venues and supporting infrastructure projects. Encouraging localities to revitalize state-owned cultural, sports, and commercial venue resources, regularly conducting consumption promotion activities within legal and regulatory frameworks, and focusing on improving venue utilization rates.
**Coordinating Resources and Forces to Support High-Quality Development of Exhibition Economy**
Establishing cross-departmental work coordination and policy coordination mechanisms. According to requirements for building a unified national market, integrating, consolidating, and optimizing existing policies, leveraging synergistic effects of fiscal, tax, financial, and industrial policies. Improving exhibition industry statistical monitoring.
Optimizing business environment. Establishing "one-stop" approval and filing mechanisms. Iterating the "Zhejiang Venue Explorer" digital application scenario to enhance exhibition convenience. Innovating inspection and supervision models for imported exhibits, optimizing entry and exit processes for overseas exhibits. Opening green channels, actively communicating and coordinating with various consulates in China, providing "one-on-one" services for key enterprises and major exhibition groups, effectively improving visa processing efficiency and approval rates, and providing 24-hour port visa services for urgent exhibition participants coming to China. Implementing transit visa-free pre-approval mechanisms.
Improving enterprise and talent cultivation mechanisms. Leveraging the leading role of exhibition industry leading enterprises, driving coordinated development of "middle-tier" enterprises and small-micro enterprises, providing policy support for newly listed above-scale enterprises. Encouraging exhibition industry enterprises to strengthen international cooperation and improve exhibition planning, organization, attraction, and hosting levels. Supporting universities in prioritizing establishment of exhibition-related disciplines and majors, strengthening construction of core courses, textbooks, faculty, and practical projects, and innovating interdisciplinary and cross-professional talent cultivation models. Encouraging universities to deepen school-enterprise and school-local cooperation and successfully operate high-level exhibition industry talent training programs. Supporting university student exhibition planning competitions and establishing exhibition industry-education integration communities. Actively introducing high-end international exhibition industry talent.
Enhancing service guarantee levels. Supporting localities in implementing traffic expansion measures during exhibition activities. Facilitating connections between venues and surrounding commercial facilities and scenic spots, encouraging opening of shuttle public transportation routes. Encouraging localities to establish temporary payment service points in exhibition venues and surrounding areas to provide diverse payment services for overseas personnel. Encouraging local duty-free shops to establish tax refund points in exhibition venues.
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