SHANGHAI: The National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Shanghai, venue for the China International Import Expo (CIIE), is expected to begin hosting exhibitions starting from July 1 after several months of closure due to COVID-19.
“Amid the epidemic, the exhibition industry is one of the earliest sectors to suspend operation and the latest to restart,” said Tang Guifa, president of the NECC.
Tang said although the exhibition industry was allowed to resume work this month, the preparations take time and the first exhibition in the center is expected to be launched on July 1.
“July and August were used to be the slack season of the industry, but this year we will usher in an unprecedented peak season,” Tang said.
The center has reduced or waived fees for 119 commercial and office building tenants to offset the impact of the epidemic, according to Fang Hui, general manager of NECC’s operation center.
The NECC will take a slew of epidemic prevention and control measures including increasing the number temperature measurement devices, disinfectants, hand sanitizers, medical waste garbage bins and other anti-epidemic essentials, regularly disinfecting the venues, and launching an online reservation system for visitors. So far, over 1,400 companies from all over the globe have signed up for the third CIIE, which is slated to take place in November. More than 80 percent of the planned exhibition area has been booked. – Agencies
