What makes 2023 China Jingdezhen Int’l Ceramic Expo different

Amid the sweet fragrance of blossoming osmanthus, by the bank of the Changjiang River, the 2023 China Jingdezhen International Ceramic Expo opened as scheduled on October 18, 2023.

With the mission of establishing the Jingdezhen National Ceramic Culture Inheritance and Innovation Experimental Zone and creating a new platform for foreign cultural exchanges, the 20th Jingdezhen Ceramic Expo has been upgraded, opening a new chapter in the transformation towards integrated development of trade, investment and culture, according to the Information Office of Jingdezhen Municipal People's Government.

New Concept: Trade and Culture Tell the Story of Foreign Exchange in the Millennium Porcelain Capital

In Hall 3 of the Ceramic Expo City, traditional ceramic decorative patterns and the experiential activity of traditional porcelain-making techniques have caught people's eyes. Buyers stop to inquire, and visitors compete to experience.

The accumulation of history has created the unique cultural charm and artistic atmosphere of Jingdezhen, attracting craftsmen from all over the country who make ceramics here and sell to everywhere as since ancient times, Jingdezhen has been a city of immigrants, where a large number of skilled craftsmen from outside gathered.

This year's week-long Ceramic Expo has attracted people from different countries, with different skin colors, and speaking different languages by holding many new thematic activities, such as ceramic culture exhibition and exchange activities, combining trade and culture.

The inheritance of ceramic culture and the protection of traditional craftsmanship become a new concept for this year's expo.

"The Expo provides us with a platform for communication and cooperation," said Jose Maria Chinoyosa Sareto, General Manager of Spanish Magina Company. She looked forward to this visit to Jingdezhen, expecting to gain a deeper understanding of the ceramic culture in China and to achieve more cooperation.

A piece of porcelain connects mountains and seas, and an expo links the world. Taking advantage of the Expo, Jingdezhen is engaging in dialogue with the world and telling the wonderful story of "China and Porcelain" to the world.

New link: link the world with "Belt and Road"

Porcelain, as a symbol of traditional Chinese culture, has built a bridge across mountains and seas in the history of cultural exchange between China and foreign countries.

From the ancient Silk Road to "Belt and Road", Jingdezhen, with longlasting kiln fire, still has the most complete and perfect system of handmade porcelain in the world. The "Jingdezhen style" that could be seen everywhere in the porcelain exhibition areas has once again become a "trendy item".

The year of 2023 is also the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. This year's expo has invited many international ceramic brands to participate in the exhibition and has set up an international ceramic zone in the Trading Center, which has attracted more than 40 international brands.

The gene of Jingdezhen has been infused with "openness" since ancient times. Since the Song Dynasty, Jingdezhen porcelain has been exported in large quantities, extending from Central Asia and West Asia to European and African continents.

Professor Hu Ping from Nanchang University, who has been studying Jingdezhen for a long time, said that according to historical records, from 1729 to 1794, the Dutch East India Company shipped 43 million pieces of Chinese porcelain. From the late Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, approximately 300 million pieces of Chinese porcelain landed in Europe, with the main output being blue and white porcelain and colored porcelain from Jingdezhen folk kilns.

The "2023 China (Jingdezhen) Cross-border Ceramic Sourcing Matchmaking Meeting" held on the Expo's opening day was the third international direct procurement matchmaking event held during the Ceramic Expo.

In order to better serve enterprises, this matchmaking meeting innovated its working methods, providing business opportunities for buyers from abroad to purchase Jingdezhen ceramic products through offline display or direct procurement and for Jiangxi ceramic enterprises to explore overseas markets.

Some 250 professional buyers from 60 countries and about 130 local enterprises held one-on-one business negotiations during the matchmaking meeting.

The story that began on the ancient Silk Road continues today. Jingdezhen, the millennium porcelain capital that has integrated into the joint construction of "Belt and Road", continues to write the story of "dialogue" with the world.

New Engine: Revitalizing Ceramic Trade, Porcelain Promotes Economic Development

On October 9, 2023, a container truck loaded with ceramic plates drove out of Ceramic Expo (Taobo) City in Jingdezhen and headed for Bangkok, Thailand. Since the launch of the pilot project of market purchase trade in April this year, 47 shipments have been sent to 17 countries and regions. The personalized needs from different regions around the world are more closely connected to the skilled craftsmen here.

In order to further expand the benefits of the Expo, to help Jingdezhen ceramic enterprises expand their foreign trade channels, and to promote trade transactions, the 2023 China (Jingdezhen) Cross-order Ceramic Sourcing Matchmaking Meeting was held with the theme of "Ceramic Expo never ends and Ceramic Expo City facilitates global trades".

Trade transaction is an important indicator for measuring the effectiveness of the Ceramic Expo. The procurement amount of intention reached on the opening day of the Expo totaled 66.76 million US dollars, with actual transaction amounting to 13.29 million US dollars.

At the same time, in order to develop online ceramic trade, the organizing committee of the Expo also made full use of digitalization and built a Ceramic Expo City Digital Trade Industrial Park on the fifth floor of the Trading Center, making traditional e-commerce, cross-border e-commerce, and live streaming e-commerce in full run. The Committee hopes to empower the offline trading market with online trade.

Nowadays, Jingdezhen's ceramic daily utensils and artistic ceramics are exported to dozens of countries and regions. In 2022, the city's export volume increased by 147.9%, with the output value of advanced ceramics increasing by 165.6%.

Source: Information Office of Jingdezhen Municipal People's Government