In 2008, the Beijing Olympics which has attracted worldwide attention will welcome its grand opening in Beijing, China. Meanwhile, to comply with the flourishing demand of machine tools, machine tool industry will have two major events: EASTPO 2008 and CCMT (China CNC Machine Tool Fair). One is located in the south Shanghai, the manufacturing center of China and the other is located in the north Beijing. These 2 events will provide an important opportunity of further promoting the rapid development of China's machine tool industry.  

In the machine tool industry, the prestigious CIMT (China International Machine Tool Show) is held in odd number years in Beijing, while its "sister show"-CCMT is held in even years. Since 2000, CCMT has been held for 4 editions in Shanghai. In 2008, it will be formally moved to Beijing and its theme will be "Showcase independent and innovative technology and product of domestic manufacturers."

From 9-12 July, 2008, another event in the machine tool industry-the 10th Shanghai International Machine Tool Fair (EASTPO 2008) will be held at China's economic, financial and manufacturing center-Shanghai. EASTPO2008 will not only provide the opportunity for manufacturers all over the world to showcase their latest products and cutting-edge technologies, but also a chance for them to develop business in China.

Since 1999, EASTPO has been successfully held for 9 times with the vision of making it a cost-effective trade show. Through the operation of market mechanism, EASTPO won worldwide attention in the industry. The theme of EASTPO 2008 will be "Build a most cost-effective trading platform for world's machine tool makers". It will be a convenient access for overseas makers into China's market and a tunnel for Chinese makers to the overseas arena.

In 2007, it attracted 70,405 visitors from 26 provinces of China and over 20 countries and regions, such as Germany, Japan, Korea, Spain, Swiss, United States, UAE, etc. Associations and local government led delegations to the show, such as KOAMI, GIC, MTA, Shanghai Mechanical Engineering Society, Yanchen government, etc. During four days of the show, 1,022 exhibitors from 18 countries and regions, such as China, Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Korea, participated with more than 10,000 exhibits.

Besides overseas top brands machine tool makers, such as Okuma, Mazak, Spinner, Doosan, Citizen, Fagor, etc., local well-known makers also exhibited in the show, including Shanghai Electric, Dalian group, Hanland, CCZMT, Hangzhou group.

During EASTPO 2007, many machine tool associations around the world and enterprises visited the fair with great interests in its on-site results and ten years of history. Therefore, overseas recruitment is going very well from the very beginning. Up till late September, a number of countries are participating actively to organize country pavilions, such as Korea, Germany, and India. More negotiations are undergoing regarding the cooperation.

In 2008, athletes around the world will compete at the arena of Olympics, while CCMT and EASTPO 2008 will provide meeting points for machine tool makers to meet its customers. It is a great opportunity you can not miss.

(China.org.cn December 20, 2007)