A globally important fair taking place in southern China is playing an ever greater role in the small and medium-enterprises sector internationally, as it capitalizes on China's successful multilateral cooperation programs.

The 14th China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair being held on Oct 10-13 in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, is expected to have greater influence within the international community, according to the event's organizers.

The organizing committee of the fair, also known as CISMEF, said that a total of 31 countries and regions will send business delegations to the event.

More than 2,000 Chinese SMEs, as well as over 500 SMEs from nations such as Malaysia, Thailand and Russia, have confirmed their participation.

The fair will provide 6,000 stands for participants in an exhibition area covering 150,000 square meters.

Major activities during the main course of the exhibition include a summit for Chinese SMEs and a seminar to upgrade financing among Asia-Europe SMEs.

A promotional convention to popularize new information technology will also be highlighted during the annual event.

On its first day, CISMEF will have a China Small and Medium Enterprises Summit.

In it, Chinese and foreign government officials, well-known economists and representatives of outstanding entrepreneurs, will exchange policies and measures as well as practical achievements in supporting the development of SMEs.

It will also explore new ways to face the challenges posed by new economic scenarios.

The summit is organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce as well as Guangdong provincial government.

An Asia-Europe seminar on SME Financing will kick off on Oct 11Focusing on funding SMEs, it aims to bring light to the strains caused by the difficulties of raising capital.

Organizers will invite 300 government officials, experts and financial institution insiders from 53 members of the Asia Europe Meeting to the seminar.

They will bring up their successful cases, to clarify the new service models for financing SMEs.

They will look at broader ways to attract investment and the need to improve the financing environment.

The Guangzhou Initiative, a framework to support the financing development of SMEs in Asia and Europe, will be delivered at the event.

"This seminar is a solid response to Premier Li Keqiang's address at the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting in Mongolia," said He Zuoxian, deputy director-general of the SME Bureau of Guangdong at a media briefing before the event.

"It will make a positive contribution to strengthening economic ties and the financing cooperation system among Asian and European countries."

The Information Application Promotion for SMEs and the Information Forum will teach the companies how to embrace big data and the internet.

Business insiders and researchers will expound their views on the advantages of cloud computing, big data, the mobile internet and other information technology, and popularizing their application in the manufacturing sector.

To wield greater influence in the international community, the event's organizing committee will also arrange a series of matchmaking events for Chinese and overseas SMEs.

The matchmaking events have caught the attention of representatives from Russia, Malaysia, Bulgaria, South Korea as well as the Hong Kong special administrative region and Taiwan.

The involved parties will hold a total of eight matches in the exhibition hall.

"Since the beginning of the fair, CISMEF has been committed to popularizing the general economic policies made by our State," He said.

"Topics have been based on the reform of supply-side structures, innovation as an engine, the Belt and Road Initiative and the construction of a new model for an opening economy," He added.

"The fair has been helping SMEs to better know about economic development, giving solutions to enterprises for solving difficulties in their expansion and transformation, providing new perspectives on innovation and expanding their horizons in innovation and healthy development."

In addition to e-commerce, emerging industries - such as smart manufacturing, energy-saving, environmental protection and the electronic information sectors - will also be highlights of the fair.

liyou@chinadaily.com.cn

Event schedule of the 14th CISMEF

China SME Summit

Date: 14:00-17:40, Oct 10.

Venue: International Convention Center, 1/F, Guangzhou Garden Hotel

Content: The event will cover policies and measures as well as practical achievements, promote new thinking among entrepreneurs and inject new momentum to promote the innovative development and transformation of manufacturing SMEs in China.

SMEs Cross-business Matchmaking Activity

Date: 9:00-17:00, Oct 10

Venue: Hall 5, Poly World Trade Center Expo

Content: The event will provide information, customer matching, online matchmaking, face-to-face communication, financial services and other cross-border matching services to solve problems restricting the international development of SMEs.

2017 "Maker in China" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition

Date: 9:00-17:00, Oct 10-13

Venue: Hall 6, Poly World Trade Center Expo

Content: The event will collect excellent participating entries from SMEs, creating a public atmosphere of innovation through contests, forums, exhibitions and other forms.

Second Asia-Europe Seminar on SME Financing

Date: 8:30-19:00, Oct 11

Venue: Magnolia Hall (Meeting), Hydrangea Hall (Dinner Banquet), 3/F, Guangzhou Garden Hotel

Content: The event will host a discussion on renovating SME financing products and models, developing diversified financing channels for SMEs and perfecting the SME financing service system.

Specific Activity 2017 under the Belt and Road Initiative between Guangdong and Africa

Date: Oct 12-13

Venue: Hall 5 of Poly World Trade Center Expo (Oct 12)

Mezzanine Meeting Room of Poly World Trade Center Expo (Oct 13)

Content: The event will invite well-known domestic economists, experts from related international organizations and business associations, as well as SMEs from China and across Africa to build a three-dimensional channel of cooperation for Chinese SMEs and African countries.

Information Application Promotion for SMEs and Information Forum

Date: 14:00-17:00, Oct 12

Venue: Magnolia Hall, 3/F, Guangzhou Garden Hotel

Content: The event will invite large-scale information service providers and SME representatives to discuss and share experiences, aiming to promote SMEs to further reduce operating costs and thresholds by using IT for innovative development.

(China Daily 09/25/2017 page15)