03 Dec 2020 the 3rd CIIE – Australia Made & Oz-Town Exhibition Group Review

On the 10th of November 2020, the third CIIE finally came to the end. This year is unusual. The spread of the COVID-19 epidemic globally has brought many shocks to the economies of the world, and Australia is no exception. However, the launch of the CIIE has allowed all companies to revive their business and ignited hope.

Before the event, CIIE announced that due to the impact of the epidemic, the National Convention and Exhibition Center of the 3rd CIIE only carries 30% of the daily capacity. As soon as the news came out, many exhibitors and buyers took a wait-and-see attitude towards the potential benefits of the CIIE. However, Australian Made & Oz-Town exhibition group still has high expectations for the CIIE and actively cooperates with a series of CIIE’s arrangements.

According to statistics, under the limited number of people, there were still 400,000 buyers who have signed up to “buy, buy, and buy”. There 2238 buyers have a mid-year turnover of more than USD 1 billion, and there are nearly 1,400 companies with more than USD 100 million annual import volume. At the CIIE, all parties are willing to cooperate. Finally, the volume of intentional transactions at this year’s CIIE has not only remained unchanged but has increased by 2.1% compared to the previous year. In one year, the cumulative volume of intentional transactions has reached $72.62 billion US dollars.

Affected by the epidemic, the trip to the third CIIE was also very difficult for the Australian Made & Oz-Town Exhibition Group. However, with the support of the government departments and organizations of China and Australia, the Exhibition Group made its appearance at the CIIE smoothly. The members of the group were very successful and rewarded!

At the same time, due to the epidemic situation, the security inspection at the CIIE has become stricter. With the assistance of the Oz-Town team, the exhibitors successfully uploaded COVID-19 test reports within the specified time, and all entered the CIIE without any delay. The team has made a good start.

During the CIIE, the pavilion signed a total of about 25 contracts with a total value of US$300 million, including exclusive authorization contracts and strategic intention contracts. The value of the contracts doubled from the previous year.

The Exhibition group finally consisted of 22 Australian companies, including 16 companies in the Food and Agricultural Products Pavilion and 6 companies in the Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products Pavilion. 76 people were participating in the exhibition, and 16 people connected to the CIIE from the online platform in Australia.

The products on display in the Food and Agricultural Products Pavilion include honey, wine, beef, seafood, oat, milk powder, donkey-hide gelatin cake, etc.

The products on display in the Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products Pavilion include medical services, hand sanitizer, health care products, lactoferrin powder, etc.

Activity Review

Activity 1 Hunan province Business Matching

This year’s Hunan Business Matching is the second business matching jointly organized by Australia Made & Oz-Town Exhibition Group and the Hunan Provincial Department of Commerce.

Different from the previous year, the cooperation between the Hunan Provincial Department of Commerce and the exhibition group went further this year, providing the exhibition group with an Australian Madededicated venues.

At the meeting, Mr. Ben Lazzaro, the CEO of Australia Made, introduced Australia Made online. Subsequently, Ms. Sophie Liu, head of the Australia Made & Oz-Town Exhibition Group, represented the exhibitors of the group and made product introductions and recommendations for 22 companies at the conference.

At the business matching, exhibitors actively communicated with enterprises in Hunan Province and exhibited their characteristic products. At the same time, representatives of the exhibition delegation and Mr. Daniel Boyle, Minister of the Australian Embassy in China, met with senior officials from Hunan Province.

Activity 2 Austrade Dinner

On November 5th, the Australian Made & Oz-Town Exhibition Group participated in the Australia Networking Dinner hosted by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission. The dinner invited Australian exhibitors and their important Chinese partners to deepen Chinese companies’ understanding of Australian companies. This dinner increases the communication between the Australian enterprises and their Chinese partners.

At the same time, Australian Minister of Trade Simon Birmingham delivered a video address to the dinner participants, expressing that the Australian government is committed to maintaining an open, positive and productive relationship with China in the commercial and political fields.

Activity 3 MOU signing ceremony

The Australian Made & Oz-Town Exhibition Group was witnessed by Ms. Liu Bing, Deputy Consul-General (Commercial) of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, and Ms. Sophy Liu, Head of the Australian Made & Oz-Town Exhibition Group, and Ms. Jessica Beard, the Export Manager of Australian Made and Mr. Ian Harrison, Oz-Town consultant and former CEO of Australian Made, held a grand MOU signing ceremony under the online witness.

At the MOU signing ceremony, a total of 10 contracts were signed, of which eight contracts were signed on-site, and two contracts were signed online, with a contract value of approximately RMB 120 million. At the same time, some companies signed an exclusive license agreement.

Activity 4 Australian Embassy Visit

Mr. Graham Fletcher, the Australian Ambassador in China, visited the Food and Agricultural Products Pavilion. Ms. Sophy Liu, the Australian Made & Oz-Town Exhibition Group, guided Mr. Graham Fletcher to visit the Exhibition Group and introduced all the 22 companies’ products to him.

Mr. Graham Fletcher also connected with exhibitors far away in Australia through the network equipment prepared by Oz-Town and said that he is happy that everyone is actively participating in the exhibition. Also, he said that the booth of the exhibition group is very distinctive, and he hopes that the Australian Made & Oz-Town exhibition group can be better and better next year.

Activity 5 ICBC Business Matching

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Sydney Branch has been actively assisting the Australian Made & Oz-Town exhibition group to connect with Chinese companies. And ICBC made efforts for the exhibition group to online and offline communicate with Chinese enterprises in advance.

At the same time, during the CIIE, at the invitation of ICBC, Ms. Sophy Liu, the head of the Australian Made & Oz-Town exhibition group, represented the group to participate in the ICBC Business Matching and introduced the exhibits of the exhibition group participating in the CIIE to the matching companies.

Activity 6 Bank of China Business Matching

Under the leadership of Ms. Sophy Liu, 22 companies sent a representative to participate in the CIIE Business Matching provided by the Bank of China.

The meeting was quite rewarding. Six or seven companies signed contracts directly at the meeting, and the contract amount was approximately US$30 million. At the same time, some exhibitors have contacted potential customers and will continue to communicate in the future.

Support from all parties

At this CIIE, the Australian Made & Oz-Town exhibition group experienced numerous obstacles from its start to the formation, and finally to its debut. With the support of the Chinese and Australian governments, organizations, partners, and members of the exhibition group, this exhibition was complete.

Australian Made gave great support from the establishment of the exhibition group to the final appearance. Ms. Jessica Beard, the export manager of Australia Made, and Mr. Ian Harrison, the consultant of Oz-Town and former CEO of Australian Made, participated in every online promotion and internal meetings of the exhibition group. And they participated in a series of preliminary preparations for the exhibition group and gave encouragement and confidence to the exhibition group members when the COVID-19 was epidemic.

The success of this exhibition group also requires the support of its members. All exhibitors in the exhibition group are very cooperative with the work of the Oz-Town team. Due to the epidemic, many local Australian exhibitors have difficulty entering China, so the exhibitors cooperated with Oz-Town’s suggestion to activate Chinese teams or partners to represented in the CIIE. Exhibitors in Australia use the Internet in real-time Follow up on-site information.

The CIIE team has always provided various supports for the exhibition group. They provide careful assistance for each link of the exhibition group registration, entry quarantine, registration of vehicle certificates, exhibits transportation, and provide the exhibition group with the latest news and latest services guide.

Oz-Town’s domestic partners, Lucky Horse International Wine Group and Beijing Fengshengpin Pty  Ltd, actively support various activities of Oz-Town. Among them, Lucky Horse provided a lot of help and support for the transportation before the CIIE and the dismantling after the CIIE. It is worthwhile to be pleased that all the exhibits were successfully transported into the Expo site with the assistance of Lucky Horse. Fengshengpin supported the service of the entire trade during the exhibition and tracked and photographed the wonderful moments of each booth.

The leadership of the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney attaches great importance to this exhibition, and provides timely follow-up of Chinese visa information for members of the exhibition group, and promotes the speed of visa approval for members.

The leaders of the Australian Consulate in China and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission supported the Australian Made & Oz-Town exhibition on the spot, gave support and encouragement to the members of the exhibition group, and took photos with the exhibitors.

At special times, the booking of air tickets is extremely difficult and expensive. With the support and help of China Eastern Airlines, the members of the exhibition group are allowed to keep the air tickets until they have successfully obtained the Chinese visa before paying and issuing the tickets. It provides convenience to the exhibition group members and saves costs.

Create a better future

This year, more than 180 Australian companies participated in the CIIE, an increase of 20% from 2019. It is the largest number in history.

Australia’s key exhibiting industries are divided into four major sectors: food and agricultural products, medical equipment and healthcare, consumer goods, and service trade. The Australian Made & Oz-Town exhibition group exhibited in the Food and Agricultural Products Pavilion and the Medical Equipment and Healthcare Pavilion.

The exhibition group has brought high-quality Australian products and services to the professional visitors of the CIIE, as well as online and offline consumers, and have received unanimous praise.

Taking this opportunity, Oz-Town Australia further cooperated with the CIIE. During the third CIIE, as a VIP enterprise of the CIIE, Oz-Town was invited by the CIIE to sign the CIIE contract for the next three years.

We believe that next year, the Australia Made & Oz-Town exhibition group will grow stronger, bringing more clean, green, safe, healthy, and high-quality products to Chinese customers.

Live inthe one world, share the same wind and rain, gather in the CIIE, and enjoy the opportunity!

We look forward to seeing you in 2021 CIIE!