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The 24th China (Jinjiang) International Footwear Industry and 7th International Sports Industry Expo recently concluded successfully in Jinjiang, Fujian. According to data from the organizing committee, the number of participants in this year's Shoe (Sports) Expo reached 192000, with an intended transaction value of 31.16 billion yuan, an increase of 30.8% compared to 2019 before the epidemic. Exhibitors generally reported results that exceeded expectations.

Expand international circle of friends

This year's Shoe (Sports) Expo has an exhibition area of 60000 square meters, with a total of three main exhibition areas for footwear products/sports goods, shoe textile materials, and mechanical equipment, as well as 240 international standard booths. At the same time, more than 10 featured theme pavilions have been set up, including the cultural and sports tourism city image pavilion, the scientific and technological innovation and talent pavilion, the digital economy pavilion, the "the Belt and Road" international pavilion, the Taiwan shoe machine pavilion, and the media exhibition area, attracting more than 2000 domestic and foreign exhibitors from more than 70 countries and regions to seek new business opportunities and expand new cooperation.

While meticulously preparing for offline exhibitions, the organizing committee is closely monitoring industry development trends and continuously developing and improving supporting service functions such as popular exhibition specials, live streaming marketing, exhibition promotion, and business circle publishing. The total number of online platform exhibitors has reached over 550. At the same time, the exhibition further optimized and improved its online layout, linked overseas Chinese resources, and released the "Jinjiang Overseas Chinese Commerce and Trade Promotion and Optimization Cloud Platform". More than 2000 enterprises and overseas Chinese merchants were settled and linked, involving 13 countries and regions, and more than 10000 pieces of information on various products and cooperation intentions were released. Leveraging Jinjiang's strong manufacturing industry cluster, rich Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese buyer resources, we achieved supply-demand optimization and B2B upstream and downstream connectivity, Assist domestic and foreign merchants in sharing market opportunities.

In order to allow more domestic and foreign businessmen to participate in the exhibition, before the exhibition, the organizing committee, relying on the resources of Jinjiang Domestic Foreign Trade Association and overseas Chinese, issued more than 2000 invitation letters, electronic brochures and other promotional materials, and set up the international trade "the Belt and Road" international pavilion, constantly improving the popularity and influence of the exhibition in countries and regions along the international trade "the Belt and Road". At the same time, we will deepen the integration and development of Shanxi and Taiwan, connect with the Taiwan Shoe Industry Association and the Taiwan Machinery Industry Association, and establish a Taiwan Shoe Machinery Museum composed of major shoe machinery enterprises such as Qianfu, Yiyi, and Dingsheng.

The Chairman of the Taiwan Shoe Industry Association, You Ruibin, stated that participating in the Shoe (Sports) Expo provides a good platform for industry information exchange between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and is an important way for enterprises to promote and seek cooperation. Being able to learn about the cutting-edge technology and information in the industry at the exhibition is an excellent opportunity for shoe companies across the Taiwan Strait to seek cooperation.

Li Dandan, the Chief Representative of the Shanghai Representative Office of the European and American Chamber of Commerce, led more than 40 enterprises from more than 20 countries to exhibitions and factories. The merchants were interested in the "China Smart Manufacturing" that is full of technological interest. Li Dandan stated that at this exhibition, there are everything from shoe textile materials to mechanical equipment, and even small and medium-sized enterprises have many eye-catching products.

Innovation leads industry development

The 4-day Shoe (Sports) Expo not only comprehensively presented the development of Jinjiang's shoe and sports industries, but also focused on showcasing the achievements of Jinjiang's real economy in areas such as technological innovation and integrated development. The influx of merchants is full of interest in the technological "Made in Jinjiang" and curiosity about the emerging digital economy new track.

Entering the first established Jinjiang Digital Economy Museum, a blue and black industrial grade robot dog was performing various movements under the instructions of the staff: crawling forward, jumping, climbing hills, climbing stairs, flipping backwards, running backwards... During the exhibition, this robot dog became a "internet celebrity" that attracted many exhibitors.

In addition to the robot dog, 3D shoe model digital printers, AI training, metaverse online exhibition halls, smart warehousing... the most popular digital economy projects are showcased here, and the achievements of Jinjiang's digital economy are also being shared with the outside world.

In the exhibition hall of Fujian Jiayi Plastic Co., Ltd., many merchants are attracted by "supercritical one-time forming slippers" and "supercritical flat slippers". Zhang Jinchao, the business manager of the company, introduced that the "supercritical" series of materials was a major highlight of their participation in the Shoe (Body) Expo. The company has been focusing on the production of high-end EVA modified materials for 20 years. In order to promote the concept of "green, healthy, and environmental protection", Jiayi has launched the "supercritical" materials that focus on safety and health concepts. This time I am here to participate in the offline shoe (sports) expo, mainly to listen to the market's opinions and suggestions on the company's newly launched products, which can help us update and upgrade our products, and promote the innovation and development of enterprises to a higher level.

At the exhibition, a silver white giant device attracted many overseas merchants to stop and consult, leaving Su Yiyang, the general manager of Jinjiang Kaijia Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd., overwhelmed. In just two days, a smart shoe machine exhibited by the enterprise received over 50 orders, with international trade orders accounting for more than half of the total. "This product is developed by us in cooperation with colleges and universities over three years. It can not only save half of the human cost, but also has the characteristics of high mold locking force, high intelligence, and high automation, making the shoes produced more exquisite and beautiful." Su Yiyang said that in recent years, the orders of footwear enterprises from Southeast Asia and other countries along the "the Belt and Road" have increased, and the export volume of enterprises' international trade in the first quarter has increased by more than 20%.

Assist traditional enterprises in reaching the internet

The Shoe (Sports) Expo is a "barometer" and "wind vane" for the development of the industry, and also a mirror reflecting the development of the real economy in Jinjiang. For many years, guided by the "Jinjiang Experience", Jinjiang has been devoting no effort to industrial development, and the real economy has flourished. Especially in the past three years, under the strong guidance of the Jinjiang Municipal Party Committee and Government, Jinjiang enterprises have worked hard to overcome pressure and achieve innovative results.

The footwear and clothing industry is a pillar industry in Jinjiang. Last year, the output value exceeded 307.3 billion yuan, accounting for 41.6% of the city's industrial volume, and the added value increased by 9.1%. In Jinjiang, from silk thread, fabric, shoe soles to finished products, tens of thousands of enterprises form a rich and complete industrial chain supporting facilities, and have also attracted numerous domestic and foreign merchants to come here to seek gold.

In recent years, Jinjiang has continued to improve the quality and efficiency of the industry through technology empowerment, digital empowerment and other aspects, established the core development strategy of "digital intelligence transformation", launched the three-year action of digital economy, and introduced 12 measures for industrial Digital transformation. In 2022, Jinjiang City was awarded the National Leading County (City) for Industrial Internet to Promote Digital Innovation, hosted the provincial industrial Digital transformation site meeting, introduced two digital service platforms, created 14 benchmark projects by industry, launched 7 application packages, and drove 400 enterprises to "cloud platform". The scale of digital economy is expected to reach 178 billion yuan, accounting for 56% of GDP.

The Jinjiang Industrial Digital Service Collaboration Alliance, led by the Jinjiang Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology and initiated by Zhixin Big Data Company and All Things Zhilian Company, was officially established on April 19 of this year. The alliance is committed to seizing the development opportunities of the digital economy and injecting new momentum into the digital development of the Jinjiang industry. As of the end of 2022, more than 90% of enterprises in Jinjiang city have achieved "touch the net", 101 enterprises have achieved standardization through the integration of industrialization and management system, more than 1000 enterprises have been on cloud platforms, and more than 60% of industrial enterprises have applied "CNC generation" intelligent equipment technology. Jinjiang has cultivated a group of 5G smart factory benchmark enterprises such as Baihong, Xintai, and Huayu. Three enterprises have been selected for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's intelligent manufacturing pilot demonstration, four projects have been selected for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's intelligent manufacturing comprehensive standardization and new mode application project, and 28 enterprises have been rated as provincial-level intelligent manufacturing pilot demonstration enterprises.

This year's Shoe (Sports) Expo will continue to integrate cross-border e-commerce resources in Shenzhen, Qingdao, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wenzhou, and invite cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba, Amazon, eBay, Wish, etc. to hold the 2023 China (Jinjiang) Footwear Industry Cross border E-commerce Summit, bringing the latest cross-border e-commerce trends, development directions, operational strategies, talent allocation, supply chain optimization, and cross-border resources to participating enterprises. At the same time, focusing on the urgent needs of industries and enterprises, breaking through the spatial and temporal dimensions of exhibitions, organizing cross-border e-commerce associations from outside the province to sell big sellers, delving into exhibition areas and enterprise workshops, observing Jinjiang's advantageous products, showcasing the strength of Jinjiang manufacturers, and seamlessly connecting face-to-face.

In order to better promote the deep integration of traditional industries and cross-border e-commerce offline, the Expo has also set up a cross-border e-commerce exhibition area, inviting well-known cross-border e-commerce platforms to participate on-site. Focusing on topics such as industry insight, data navigation, and platform assistance, the Expo provides enterprises with "one-on-one" international trade consultation and docking services in the form of roundtable discussions and on-site Q&A, helping traditional enterprises to upgrade their internet access and cross-border overseas travel.