Han Ximin

SHENZHEN hopes to have a chance to jointly organize the China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair (ICIF) with Hong Kong so as to develop the largest culture products exhibition in China into a platform for exporting culture commodities.

At a meeting yesterday in Hong Kong promoting the 2008 ICIF, and in front of nearly 100 representatives of the Hong Kong’s government, culture associations and industries, Li Yizhen, a member of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, said cooperation in the culture field in the coming years would be a new highlight between the two cities, which have established closer ties and cooperation in economy, trade, science and urban administration in the 10 years since Hong Kong’ return to the motherland.

“We have a promotion here in Hong Kong to encourage more Hong Kong enterprises to participate in the ICIF next year, bring in more international buyers and export more Chinese culture products to the international market,” said Li.

The ICIF, which was initiated in 2004, has become the only State-level international and comprehensive culture fair in China. The fair, which is organized by the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Commerce, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, General Administration of Press and Publication and Shenzhen Municipal Government, was listed in 2006 along with the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and 2010 Shanghai Expo as one of the key projects in the country’s 11th five-year program for the development of culture industry.

To promote worldwide exchange and cooperation in culture, the fourth ICIF, to be held from May 16 to 19 next year, will have a separate International Culture Hall at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. The international culture hall, covering an area of 7,500 square meters, will have foreign culture projects, products and brands and foreign tourism resources, according to Yan Xiaopei, vice mayor of Shenzhen.

In addition to encouraging participation by companies in China’s western areas and promoting exchanges between the nations’s west and east, the organizer will offer subsidies to companies from western China.

“Next year’s fair will be the largest-ever in terms of the number of participants, international buyers and trade volume,” said Zhong Yinteng, vice director of the culture development office of the Shenzhen Municipal Government.

Last year’s fair attracted a total of 1.7 million visitors including 9,500 buyers from overseas.