A triumphant return to Chinaplas

The long awaited re-opening of the Chinaplas exhibition took place between April 17th and 20th, 2023. The location was Shenzen, relatively close to Hong Kong.

This was a new departure. Originally the fair had taken place in Beijing but had then settled into a regular rotation between Guangzhou and Shanghai. For British exhibitors, Shanghai, with all its amenities was for long the favoured spot. The UK exhibitors, led by the BPF, were able to test the support offered at the new location as well as explore how well received British exporters are against a background of cooling relations between not just Britain and China, but also between China and the West as a whole. 

Whilst Chinaplas was edging towards pre-eminence among global plastics fairs, it was interesting to see how it rated, particularly in comparison to the K fair in Dusseldorf. The show ran at the Shenzen World Exhibition and Conference Centre (mercifully abbreviated to 'Shenzen World'). It’s a brand new purpose-built centre, with a capacity of 410,000 sqm, making it the second largest exhibition / conventioncentre in the world. My colleagues described it as 'first class in every way'.

The halls were completely packed with visitors and by the end of the second day 166,049 people had visited the show, of which 16,662 were from overseas. The BPF's presence there was in close collaboration with the UK government's Department for Business and Trade. We had eight companies there – Dassault Systemes, Fraser Anti-Static Techniques, Keeling & Walker, Meech International, Nextool UK, Polyglene Group, Rapidflame and the BPF itself. 

It would have been more, but sadly there was an early sell-out of floor space. On the second evening of the show, the UK's Department for Business and Trade hosted an evening reception attended by over 70 guests, including many representatives of Chinese companies, the Chinese government and local plastics associations. We also had UK companies investing in China, including Ineos, Victrex and Colloids. 

A keynote speech was given by Trevor Lewis, the Deputy Director Innovation and Industry at the Consulate-General, Guangzhou.

The BPF first exhibited at Chinaplas in 1982 at the very first Chinaplas show. Since then, the growth of the fair, especially since the early 2000s has been truly remarkable. This year the show featured 3,900 exhibitors, making it the largest plastics show in the world by exhibitor numbers. Watch out K Fair!

Next year's Chinaplas 2024 will take place in Shanghai at the National Exhibition and Conference Centre and we are encouraging companies to join our BPF organised pavilion there. For more information contact Justyna Elloitt at the BPF on jelliott@bpf.co.uk.