ANY hopes we had of seeing a few more major in-person events this year have taken another blow, following the news CE China 2021 has been cancelled.
The consumer technology showcase event, set to be held in Guangzhou (Canton) from September 16-18, has been called off by organisers IFA due to – drum roll, please – COVID-19, with the official announcement noting that “international travel into China is still severely hampered by travel restrictions due to the Corona-pandemic”.
The announcement further explains that with the latest emergence of COVID cases in Asia, both international and Chinese companies remain uncertain about their participation in international trade shows.
IFA executive director and CE China chairman Jens Heithecker said the decision to pull the pin on the 2021 event had not been an easy one, especially given the strong interest from exhibitors.
“Of course, this was a tough decision to make, especially since we do get a lot of positive feedback and especially international companies signaled their interest to present themselves at CE China”, Mr Heithecker said.
Obviously travelling to CE China would have been moot for most Australians anyway since even if you could get permission to travel to attend the event, you’d still be on the hook for about AUD$3000 in airfares to get to Hong Kong (there are no flights between Australia and Guangzhou/Canton at the time the event was supposed to be on), not to mention another AUD$3000 and two weeks of your life in hotel quarantine when you got back to Australia.
Described as being a “vibrant platform that unites global brands with Pan-Asian retailers keen to bring new products to their customers”, CE China has been running since 2016 and the organisers have stated they are “looking forward to a hopefully more light-hearted 2022 with strong business opportunities”.
