Shanghai is gearing up the largest ever platform for Chinese manufacturers looking to enter the global sourcing network.

Organizers of the First China International Global Sourcing Conference yesterday announced that the four-day show will open at the Shanghai Mart on September 25.

"The conference will prompt Chinese exporters to upgrade their products so as to better meet the requirements of global buyers," Xie Zhen, general manager of the Shanghai International Merchandising Centre Co Ltd, organizer, said at a press briefing. 
The other organizers and sponsors include the Ministry of Commerce and the Shanghai municipal government.

The sourcing conference has been raised to national level this year. A record 200 global buyers will take part in the event, including 30 companies from the Fortune 500.

Industrial manufacturers like Honeywell, Siemens, and Corning, and retailers such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco have signed up for the 20,000-square-metre fair.

Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, will lead a delegation to the fair to source building materials for New Orleans, torn apart by Hurricane Katrina a year ago.

Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Ian Mattsson will also head a large delegation to the fair.

The delegation will set up a UN sourcing hall made up of its seven committees including the United Nations Children's Fund, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

It plans to buy agricultural and animal-use products, engineering products, household necessities, and laboratory facilities.

It will also source air shipping, insurance, telecommunications and legal services.

Xie said September 26 will be "UN Sourcing Day" at the fair.

In addition, Xie said a Shanghai UN Refugee Sourcing Information Centre would be founded at the fair, which is the third in the country, following events in Beijing, Wuhan in Hubei Province and Yiwu in Zhejiang Province.

A China UN Sourcing Promotion Sub-Centre in Shanghai will also be set up.

"We are trying to match Chinese suppliers with UN buyers," Xie said at the press conference, "But the transaction volume will hinge on how many Chinese suppliers can meet the UN requirements."

This is the first time the UN has sent a large-scale sourcing team to China. The fair will also feature a special hall for auto parts, electronic products and machinery, petrochemicals, IT and telecoms and construction materials.

A global retailing sourcing hall, an export brand hall and a supply chain service hall will also be set up.

Nations including Germany, Japan and Italy will build their own halls in the country section.

Xie said at least 10 German companies would take part, sourcing industrial products at the fair.

In the past four sessions, the global sourcing fair has seen an increasing number of buyers, rising from 57 in 2002 to 110 last year.

(China Daily September 8, 2006)