China Port Expansion Spells Opportunity For U.S. Companies

Approximately 50 U.S. companies eyeing the People's Republic of China as a potential market were given a preview of the phenomenal port expansion taking place as part of the country's overall economic development strategy. The CHINA PORTEX '96 presentation and dinner took place at the Fontainebleau Hotel in conjunction with the Cruise Shipping Show in March at the Miami Beach Convention Center. It was hosted by a joint delegation of top representatives from the China Ports and Harbors Association, Shanghai Port Authority and Shanghai Harbor Bureau, as well as from the Hamburg Messe und Congress, the organizer of the CHINA PORTEX Trade Exposition and Conference. Representatives of the Maritime Administration (MarAd), the Florida Ports Council and International Trade Commission welcomed the delegation. The fifth bi-annual CHINA PORTEX trade show, which will take place from October 30 to November 2, 1996, at the Shanghai Exhibition Center, offers U.S. companies access to the purchasing agents of port and shipping-related equipment and expertise. "This is a particularly productive trade show for exhibitors when one considers that the Shanghai Port alone, which serves 300 million people in the Yangtze River Basin, will triple its capacity by the year 2000," said Wolfram Diener, project director of CHINA PORTEX. This year's trade show is expected to be much larger than the 1994 event, which was attended by 105 exhibitors from 14 nations, who interacted with more than 14,000 trade visitors.