Trade fair shows China's best

The China International Industry Fair began yesterday in Shanghai against a backdrop of the global slowdown and a desire to find a way for China and its manufacturers to dodge the economic gloom.



But the mood was upbeat, and experts said the global slowdown should present more opportunities than challenges for China.



Zhang Songtao, the director of a central government work group on financial affairs, told a pre-show forum that China's economic growth, its currency and its exports have shown the nation has the ability to counter financial woes and that it still has plenty of room for development.



"China should get more opportunities than challenges from this financial crisis," Zhang said.



Tormod Gunleiksrud, head of Swiss company ABB Group's robotics business in China, agreed, saying there should be more chances for China than challenges. ABB is seeking local firms to supply parts to replace its European suppliers, Gunleiksrud said at the fair.



China's Qier Machine Tool (Group) Co aims to absorb more foreign technologies through cooperation with outside firms, and then reproduce the technologies to strengthen competitiveness, said Qu Bo, the firm's chairman.



The China International Industry Fair began 10 years ago as a local industrial exhibition and has become an international event that showcases the highest levels of China's industrial developments.



Exhibits on display this year include the world's first floating crane, produced by Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co and capable of lifting 7,500 tons, and a hydraulic press produced by Shanghai Electric, which is the world's strongest - capable of exerting 16,500 tons of pressure.



The event attracted 1,816 exhibitors, of which 473 are foreign companies. It runs until Saturday at the Shanghai New International Expo Center.