Opening ceremony (by Zhang Guangming)

The 13th China Ceramics Exposition was held at Tangshan International Exhibition Center in Hebei province on September 16.

The exposition was co-sponsored by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the China National Light Industry Council, the China Building Materials Federation and the Hebei Provincial Central Committee, as assisted by the China Ceramic Industry Association, the China Building Sanitary Ceramics Association and the China Economic Liaison Center.

The event also invited the Umbria Region Manufacturers’ Association from Italy, Korea Ceramic Technology Institute, India-China Chamber of Commerce & Industry and related organizations and associations of Hebei province to help with the preparations for the exposition.

Han Qide, vice-chairman of the National People’s Congress, and Li Jinhua, vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, attended the opening ceremony. Other prominent officials were also at the ceremony, including Yu Ping, vice-president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Yang Zipeng, president of the China National Light Industry Council, Sun Tieshi, vice president of the China Building Materials Federation and other senior officials from the Hebei municipal government.

More than 800 exhibition positions were provided for 278 companies, including 29 foreign ones from almost 20 countries and regions outside China, such as the United States, Japan, Germany, Australia, Canada, and Britain. It is estimated that the business volume of the exposition is likely to reach 3.1 billion RMB ($ 460.1 million), according to the Great Wall Net.

The exhibition, scheduled to close on September 20th, will carry out a series of commerce and trade activities, covering such subjects as household porcelain, architectural ceramics, sanitary porcelain, artistic porcelain, industrial chemical porcelain, electro ceramics, gardening porcelain, high-tech ceramic products and ceramic machinery.

Activities during this 5-day-exhibition-period include a ceramic trade show, the 2010 Annual Academic Conference of the Chinese Ceramic Society Ceramics Branch, the 4th Creative Industry Summit and the 2010 Ceramic Art Exchange Fair.

The event has been held for 12 consecutive sessions since its debut in 1998, and has now become an enormously important large-scale professional brand exhibition for Tangshan to promote its ceramic cultures and provide more momentum for the development of the city’s ceramic industry.

In addition, the French brand Carrefour will also hold a purchasing conference on the occasion of the exposition.

Officials cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony. (by Zhang Guangming)

By Audrey and Chen Zhilin