Gao Yan, vice chairwoman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, China's top exhibition organizer, told an international forum that Chinese exhibitions are lacking overseas participation.

According to a latest survey of the 1,064 exhibition held in 42 key Exposition centers in China, the overseas participant companies and visitors were about 9 percent and 0.44 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, Chinese exhibition industry has relatively small annual sales volume, which was some 8 billion yuan (0.97 billion US dollars) in 2004, accounting for only 0.3 percent of the global total.

However, Chinese exhibition market continues to attract foreign organizers.

China has a small share in the global exhibition market, but it has a great potential, said Vincent Gerard, managing director of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry.

Jochen Witt, president and Chief Executive Officer of KoeInmesse GmbH, leading German exhibition organizer, said that China is and will be the key market of the company, especially after his company successfully cooperated with Chinese partners in the sector.

But another problem still matters. Craig Allen, minister-counselor of the US Embassy to China warned that the protection on the exhibition and products' intellectual property right should be further enhanced.

So far, China has 118 well-prepared and registered exhibition centers and has forged five exhibition industry belts in Bohai Sea rim, the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River (Zhujiang) Delta, Northeast industrial base and in the meddle and western provinces.