CIFTIS Contributes Experience to Holding Large-Scale Exhibition Activities in the New Norm

The 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) has been concluded successfully. With the theme of "Towards Digital Future and Service Driven Development", the 2021 CIFTIS has organized activities covering all 12 fields of trade in services, formed a set of methods, and obtained experience in holding large-scale exhibitions in the new norm.

At the 2021 CIFTIS closing press conference, Yan Ligang, Deputy Director of the 2021 CIFTIS Executive Committee and Director-General of Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau, summarized that the 2021 CIFTIS was held under the severe and complicated global pandemic situation and unstable domestic pandemic situation. It was momentous for China to hold the world's only international, national, and comprehensive fair for trade in services under the circumstances. The 2021 CIFTIS has not only innovated the idea of organizing conferences but also formed a set of methods for holding large-scale exhibition activities in the new norm.

It initially explored the mode of "One Fair, Dual Venues". Summits, comprehensive exhibitions, and other activities were held at the National Convention Center. The thematic exhibitions, as well as the supporting forums, conferences, and side events, were held in Shougang Park’s 15 exhibition halls and 21 meeting venues, covering 94,000 square meters. The two venues shared one VI visual image and one security inspection system to strengthen the traffic connection between the two venues and realize the effective interaction between the two venues.

More experience of pandemic prevention and control, as well as security, has been obtained. A dynamic risk assessment mechanism was established. Public health experts were organized to continuously carry out pandemic risk assessments. They dynamically adjusted work plans and emergency plans on pandemic prevention and control, formulated pandemic prevention and control guidelines for different personnel, and put forward prevention and control requirements in a targeted manner. Smart terminals were set up at the entrances of the venues to check participants’ vaccination and Nucleic Acid Test records, health codes, and body temperatures; the flow of people was highly controlled. The visitors had to make online appointments in advance, and enter the venue in different batches. There were pandemic prevention and control commissioners as well as pandemic prevention and control inspectors in the venues. Pandemic prevention and control, as well as security, were carried out simultaneously, using a variety of technical prevention methods to intensify the supervision and inspection of various pandemic prevention and security measures. Multiple measures were taken to ensure "zero infections" of COVID-19 and ironclad security.

At the press conference, Wang Zhihua, the second-level inspector of the Department of Trade in Services of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the 2021 CIFTIS accumulated experience of “online + offline” integrated exhibition in the new norm of pandemic prevention and control.

Wang Zhihua said that the prevention and control of the pandemic was the top priority of the 2021 CIFTIS. The CIFTIS Organizing Committee added a coordination team for pandemic prevention and control to strengthen the organization and leadership of pandemic prevention work. The CIFTIS Executive Committee carefully formulated pandemic prevention regulations, and adopted big data monitoring, video patrol, face recognition, and other scientific and technological methods to conduct instant inspections on exhibitors’ and visitors’ vaccination and Nucleic Acid Test records, health codes, and body temperatures, and strengthen on-site inspections at the exhibitions to ensure that all pandemic prevention regulations were implemented with no blind spot. The 2021 CIFTIS’s offline exhibitors and visitors reached "zero infections". This year, the CIFTIS made full use of digital technology to hold the exhibitions both online and offline, and simultaneously promoted screen-to-screen and face-to-face government-enterprise matching, industry-university matching, as well as corporate exchanges and negotiations. It has fully demonstrated great potential for digitalization, networkization, and intelligentization of economic development. The security work was solid and meticulous, ensuring the smooth progress of the 2021 CIFTIS.