CHINAPLAS 2018

China is rapidly becoming a preeminent new market in the world. With over RMB 1.5 trillion spent in R&D in 2016, a 10.6% annual increase, and of which 77.5% was contributed by businesses, the overall productivity and comprehensive national power of China is strategically being boosted, enhancing the country's influence in technology innovations.

Striding into the future – innovation is the weapon

High-speed rails, an aircraft carrier, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, the FAST telescope (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope), the EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) nuclear fusion reactor, etc. are but a few glimpses of the technological advancements achieved by China in the 21st century.

For the plastics and rubber industries, foundations for manufacturing, innovation and technology advances are always in order, as pointed out by Ms. Ada Leung, General Manager of Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd., the organizer of CHINAPLAS. "Innovation, an important 'weapon' in the plastics and rubber industries, is also the key to CHINAPLAS' success in keeping itself improved over the years."

As a major and recognized platform to promote technological innovations, CHINAPLAS addresses the latest needs of many application industries including automotive, E&E, IT & Telecom, packaging, building and medical, presenting leading and hot solutions from all over the world. "The theme of the coming edition of CHINAPLAS and beyond is set as 'Innovation is Key to the Future', highlighting the roles of technology and innovation," Ms. Leung continued.

CHINAPLAS will make its debut in the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC), Hongqiao, Shanghai, PR China in 2018. An estimated 4,000 exhibitors from 40 countries and regions will showcase their advanced exhibits on an over 320,000sqm of exhibition area. Focusing on "Smart Manufacturing, Innovative Materials and Green Solutions", CHINAPLAS facilities the plastics and rubber industries in business transformation and upgrading, leading the industries to a brighter future!

Recovered from the 2008 worldwide financial crisis, albeit over an extended period, the global economy at long last saw its growth rocket to a 10-year high in 2017. Notwithstanding the complications of international trade at the moment, globalization of economies has gained unassailable momentum, with growth rates of emerging economies enjoying significant boosts. China's resolution to deepen reforms and further its opening-up was demonstrated at the Boao Forum for Asia, concluded on 11 April 2018, and the awakened giant is going to embrace the world with an unprecedented openness in greater steps towards a new era.

The "Central Nation", advancing from a follower through the peloton to a front-runner, is grasping the opportunity to enter an age of high-quality development, supported by dynamic technology innovations and dissemination. CHINAPLAS 2018, architected around the theme "Innovation is Key to the Future", is inaugurated today, congregating 3,948 exhibitors from 40 countries and regions. The technology-driven, new-look trade show is open until 27 April in National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC), Hongqiao, Shanghai, PR China in an area of record-breaking size (340,000sqm.), 100,000sqm. larger than the previous Shanghai edition two years ago.

New starting point - a new phase of reforms and opening-up

In 2018, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of China's reforms and opening-up, Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd., organizer of CHINAPLAS, founded in 1978, likewise celebrates its 40th birthday. "Over the past 40 years, Adsale has weathered the struggles of early industries and benefited from the current economic take-off. We have witnessed China's transformation from a ‘factory of the world' to a powerhouse of innovations. We also experienced several financial crises, globalization, transformation, upgrading, and rejuvenation through technology. With China and the world's economy expanding by leaps and bounds, Adsale has gone through four extraordinary decades," observed Stanley Chu, Chairman of Adsale. "Established in 1983, CHINAPLAS has been swimming with the tide, which is the reform and opening-up of China. In the early years, it was organized to introduce overseas technologies and provide a procurement platform for local companies. Now, it is an international hub that facilitates exchanges between suppliers and buyers from all over the world, and for the release of high-end technologies."

"With many brilliant and glorious years of reform and opening-up laid as groundwork, CHINAPLAS' scale exceeds 300,000sqm. for the first time, an indicator of the massive demand for new technologies. It's a critical moment in China's economic restructuring and the shift to new growth drivers. We aspire to promote the transformation and upgrading of the industries and sustainable development through the introduction of innovative technologies," added the enthusiastic chairman.