The 18th Europe-China Business & Technology Cooperation Fair Set to Open in Chengdu
On November 12, the press conference for the 18th Europe-China Business & Technology Cooperation Fair was held in Beijing. Sun Xiao, Secretary General of the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC); Raquel Ramirez Alexander, National Vice President of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China and Chair of its Southwest Chapter; and Zhang Chi, Deputy Secretary General of the Chengdu Municipal Government, introduced key information about this year’s Fair and answered questions from the media.
According to Sun Xiao, the Fair is co-hosted by the China Chamber of International Commerce and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, and will take place from November 19 to 21 at the Center for China-Europe Cooperation in Chengdu. The event aims to enhance the quality of China–EU economic and trade cooperation and solidify collaboration in the fields of trade, investment, and science and technology.
With the theme “Mutual Trust and Connectivity, Shared Success and Prosperity,” this year's Fair highlights three features: large scale and high-level participation, strong focus on frontier industries, and commitment to practical cooperation. The program includes an opening ceremony and plenary session, a roundtable between Europe-China business associations, five parallel industry matchmaking sessions (energy and environment, biomedicine, digital culture and creativity, agriculture and food, and intelligent robotics), the “Linking Europe” exchange sessions, one-to-one business matchmaking, and visits to industrial parks and enterprises. Discussions will center on Europe-China economic and trade relations and industrial and supply chain cooperation, with the goal of enhancing government–business dialogue, strengthening international collaboration, and building consensus for cooperation.
Sun Xiao noted that preparations for the Fair are nearly complete. Attendance is expected to exceed 600 participants, with more than 500 representatives from government agencies, business associations, leading enterprises, and research institutions across 20 countries already confirmed. The attendee list includes a number of global Fortune 500 companies such as China Three Gorges Corporation, CATL, BGI, AstraZeneca, Bayer, SAP, BASF, and Suez Environnement.
Raquel Ramirez Alexander emphasized that the European Union and China are deeply economically intertwined, with closely connected supply chains and increasingly collaborative innovation ecosystems. Strengthening trade and investment cooperation is essential to achieving shared development goals. She added that the Fair provides an ideal platform to turn this mutual demand into tangible progress. By leveraging their respective strengths, China and Europe can accelerate industrial transformation and jointly shape a more prosperous future.
Zhang Chi stated that the Fair has become a distinguished symbol of Chengdu’s high-level opening-up. During the Fair, the host city of Chengdu will arrange tailored site visits for participants, allowing them to experience firsthand the city’s high-quality industrial infrastructure and development environment. Eleven key industrial parks in Chengdu will hold thematic presentations and industry exchanges to showcase the city’s strong industrial ecosystem and investment environment. Over 130 key enterprises will join one-to-one B2B matchmaking sessions to facilitate targeted business cooperation between Chinese and European companies.
The Europe-China Business & Technology Cooperation Fair, initiated by the European Commission, made its debut in 2002 and has reached its 18th edition this year. Since its establishment in Chengdu in 2006, it has developed into one of the premier Europe-China investment, trade, and technology cooperation events with the highest participation of EU member states and the broadest coverage of European enterprises. It has become an indispensable international window for information exchange and trade cooperation between Chinese and European enterprises. Since its inception, the Fair has cumulatively attracted 12,000 Chinese and European enterprises to participate, successfully arranged over 29,000 enterprise matchmaking meetings, and resulted in more than 3,200 intended cooperation agreements.