The 6th All China International Wire & Cable Industry Trade Fair (wire China 2014), Asia's premier wire, cable, tube and pipe industry exhibitions, organised by Messe D?sseldorf China Ltd (MDC), will be held at Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) from September 24-27, 2014 and holds the promise of once again getting together hundreds of manufacturers, traders, innovators, suppliers and buyers under one roof. As a preview of what the show has to offer, Axel Bartkus, General Manager, Messe D?sseldorf (Shanghai) Co Ltd and Wu Shimin, Senior Engineer engaged in technology and economic information of the wire and cable industry in China for years, elaborate about the salient features of the show. Wu Shimin is also the Executive Deputy Secretary-General, Electric Cable & Wire Branch of China Electrical Equipment Industry Association (CEEIA); member of Electric Cable & Wire Special Committee of China Electrotechnical Society; and Deputy Director, Convention & Exhibition Centre of Shanghai Electric Cable Research Institute (SECRI).

Could you highlight what the show has to offer this year?

AB: As thousands of exhibitors and trade visitors are going to attend this second-largest trade show of wire and tube industry in the world, wire and Tube China 2014 will be an excellent platform for idea exchanges, networking, cases showing, exhibiting and face-to-face business talk. The special zones featuring raw materials (chemicals and insulation) and springs and fasteners will provide a customised exhibiting occasion to enhance the effectiveness of business matching.

Global and Chinese local famous industry players have participated in wire China 2014, including Wafios, Maillefer, SAMP, Niehoff, Furukawa, B & R, Dow Chemical, Elantas, Fupao, Huntsman, Teijin, Borouge, Suzuki, Kiswire, DSR, Kos Wire, Shanghai Kingstone, Hefei Smarter, Jiangsu Singcheer, Jiangsu Handing, Suzhou Chaur Lung, Baicheng Fujia, Dongguan Liwei, HOSN, Dongguan Jingtie, Jiangsu Xin Hongtai, etc. The international pavilions will display their advanced technologies and solutions in wire China 2014 and these include the pavilions of Germany, USA, Italy, Austria, UK, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

What will make the wire China show different from the other wire shows, for example wire Dusseldorf or wire Thailand?

AB: In my opinion, the 'similarity' is much more important than the 'differences'. As you know, wire China is the second-biggest trade fair for its industry among Messe Duesseldorf's wire line-up, which consists of six shows in different regions. With the professional organisation as well as the strong synergy of this well-known 'wire' brand, wire China is always recognised as the most successful international show for customers to tap into the Chinese market or develop their business partnership with Chinese manufacturers.

How many companies are expected to participate as exhibitors?

AB: Over 1,000 exhibitors are estimated to participate in wire China 2014.

Will there be special segments such as extrusion machinery, lubricants, and so on?

AB: This show serves the industry as a 'one-stop' platform. You can say, we will showcase everything relative to wire and cable manufacturing and processing. A preliminary exhibitor list is going to be released on to our website soon. Visitors can definitely find those big shots in the sectors they are interested.

What is the current status of the wire industry in China?

WS: 'China factor' is a hot topic in the global wire product market and the global basic materials market alike. Since the reform and opening-up policy was adopted over 30 years ago, the Chinese economy has been maintaining an average annual growth rate of nearly 10 per cent. Thanks to swift development during this period, the wire industry in China has witnessed tremendous change. Most importantly, China's overall scale of wire production ranks No.1 in the world. Following is the annual output of conductors of the wire industry in China based on the study of the SECRI: copper conductors - over 5 million tonnes; aluminium conductors - over 2 million tonnes; and consumption of optical fibre - over 100 million kilometres of cords.

Secondly, the manufacturing level has considerably improved. In recent years, a large quantity of foreign and domestic sophisticated manufacturing equipment has been used in the wire industry in China, and the self-initiated R&D capacity of wire companies has been enhanced. Presently the wire industry in China can mass-produce basically all categories of wire products covering all types and specifications, which greatly satisfy domestic demand. Moreover, exported wire products have become even more competitive. Thirdly, the wire industry in China has greatly reinforced the capacity of providing auxiliary parts and components. Domestic wire companies can mass-produce basically all types of wire equipment and materials.

Currently, a complete manufacturing system has been established in the wire industry in China, which possesses the capacity of mass production. All these achievements are attributed to the following factors: 1) Economic vitality spurred by China's economic reform and opening-up; 2) Huge market demand generated along with the country's rapid economic growth; 3) Improved supporting efficiency of the industry chain owing to the overall development of China's manufacturing industries; and 4) Cooperation with foreign companies while learning state-of-the-art technology and management expertise.

Meanwhile, it's true that the wire industry in China still faces various challenges. Following are selected examples: 1) Serious excess production capacity and subsequent excessive market competition in mid-range and low-end products; 2) Insufficient R&D capacity, backward technology and weak basic research in the manufacturing techniques, materials and equipment of wire products; and 3) The dependence on imported high-end products with high added-value. In the wire industry in China, many small and medium-sized companies remain fragile in sustainable growth, and big companies are plagued by weak international competitiveness. There's still a long way to go for the wire industry in China, which has much potential of improving self-competitiveness for further development.

How do you think this industry in China will grow in the coming years? Will it be due to infrastructure projects and so on? Do you think the current economic slowdown across the world has impacted the wire industry?

WS: Due to the global economic crisis, China has been facing mounting pressure in the downside of economic growth since 2012. In the future, economic development will be hindered by increasingly severe problems incurred by break-neck economic growth, including irrational economic structure, low growth efficiency, excess production capacity, unsustainable support of resources and the environment. Taking the new situation into account, the Chinese government has realised that both too fast and too low economic growth hurt the domestic economy and potential economic growth shall be sustained with the support of resources and capacity.

Therefore, efforts shall be made to enhance innovation and improve efficiency to further contribute to economic development. Policies regarding keeping moderate investment and stimulating domestic consumption shall be adopted in a bid to fuel economic growth. Influenced by domestic economic transformation and slowdown in recent years, the growth rate of the wire industry in China has slumped despite continuous development. Guided by government policies on economic transformation and upgrade, China's new urbanisation development and the transformation and upgrade of manufacturing industries in the next years will continue providing broad market space for the country's wire industry.

For instance, since the beginning of 2014, China has been stepping up investment in power grids, railways, 4G, etc., while sound momentum has been maintained in the development of clean energy, e.g. wind power and nuclear energy. So the wire industry in China will keep relatively stable growth in the coming years, thus eliminating path dependence on high-speed growth, focusing on improving efficiency, enhancing innovation capacity, and following a new path for development.

Are Chinese wire companies open to technology sharing with companies outside China?

WS: As mentioned above, the development of the wire industry in China has been considerably benefited from cooperation with foreign companies and learning and self-improvement for win-win results. Looking forward, it's imperative for the wire industry in China to strengthen cooperation with foreign companies. In the meantime, leading Chinese wire companies are raising their awareness of going global. To further improve international competitiveness, these companies need to strengthen comprehensive cooperation and communication with foreign counterparts in technology, operational management, marketing, etc. Both the wire industry and the wire market in China will be more open-minded to communicating and cooperating with international counterparts with a view to achieving win-win results.

Will there be seminars focusing on current trends in the wire industry? If so, please give details.

AB: Yes, the organisers will release the agenda of concurrent seminars in the coming future.

What will the exhibitors gain from the show?

AB: It was proved that it brought a positive effect to our exhibitors from our earlier shows and there is no doubt the show will lead to many successful business deals.

What can visitors to the show look forward to?

AB: Take the visitors' comments of wire & Tube China 2012 as an example. From the visitors' perspective, positive feedbacks were collected as well. Products and services presented were the most advanced compared with previous editions. Furthermore, visitors from different countries worldwide felt very amazed about the wide range of exhibits and considered it a fruitful and resourceful exhibition.