Deng Hanneng
THE China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair (ICIF) may extend to Europe 2008, sources close to the ICIF said Thursday.
Germany-based exhibition company Sindelfingen Exhibition Ltd. (Messe Sindelfingen GmbH) has reached preliminary agreement with ICIF organizers to bring the fair to the continent next year, Ralph-Michael Hohenstein, president of the company, said Thursday.
Hohenstein said the fair was lively, with lots of “action, colors and incredible movements.” He said he wanted to bring the fair to Europe in its original spirit.
“German people hear a lot about China from TV and newspapers”, he said. “Germans have a great interest in knowing more about China and verifying what they see on TV or in newspapers about the country,” he said.
Holding the fair in Europe could also help Chinese companies reach small and medium-sized European companies, he said. “Big companies are able to set up offices in China and have employees here, but small and medium-sized companies cannot afford that.”
Another German, Ansgar Brossardt from Bavaria, called for more promotion of the ICIF in Europe.
As one of the few German businessmen participating in the fair, he said Shenzhen was an outstanding, dynamic city and contacts with its twin city Nuremberg should be further developed.
Brossardt, the owner of a design company, said he had taken advantage of the relationship, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, himself. “It helped me a lot, when I planned and prepared the opening of an office in Nanshan District two years ago.”
Reported by Shenzhen Daily