The 2023 China Anping International Wire Mesh Fair opens at the Anping International Exhibition Center in Hengshui, Hebei province on Sunday.

The three-day event features 600 exhibitors showcasing 6 categories of wire mesh products and machinery. Over 138 international guests from Russia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and more than 50,000 domestic guests are attending the fair to discuss cooperation and place orders.

On the first day of the fair, 12 domestic and international cooperation projects worth more than 7 billion yuan ($960 million) were signed, including emergency equipment and high-end intelligent fencing from Australian Aishimi Company, new materials industrial park from Antai Environmental Engineering Technology Company, and science and technology enterprise incubation park from Guanghua Science and Technology Innovation Company.

This year's fair further expanded international cooperation and exchange through events such as the "Belt and Road" International Direct Procurement Conference, the unveiling ceremony of the Anping Wire Mesh Global Procurement Base and the launch of the Cross-Border E-commerce Industrial Park.

The rich range of exhibits and formats were well received by businessmen from various countries.

Dine, a businessman from Niger, and his partners from Burkina Faso and other West African countries participated in the fair for the first time. He said that they have been trading in wire mesh products with China, and these products have been widely used in various fields in their countries. This time, they are preparing to purchase comprehensively, and will build long-term cooperation with Anping wire mesh enterprises to continuously supply the West African market.

Foreign customers not only came to purchase and order, but even companies like Japan's NS Mesh Co Ltd applied for exhibition space in advance to sell their products.

Among the domestic product exhibitors, over 56 percent are wire mesh enterprises from outside Hengshui city, and over 80 percent are wire mesh machinery enterprises.

This time, the wire mesh products are full of technology advancements, representing the development trend of the digitalization of the wire mesh industry.

"Our company has upgraded and innovated digital solutions in decision-making, equipment, software and finance to promote the upgrading of the industrial internet and provide great convenience for the Anping wire mesh industry," said Liu Shijie, deputy general manager of HBIS Digital Technology Co Ltd, an exhibitor.

Local product exhibitors have seized the opportunity to show high-end products, which have attracted many buyers to negotiate and order.

The booth of Anping Tianze Metal Products Company has received several new and old customers and is busy negotiating. Indian merchant Navin negotiated with this company at the fair in 2019 and again enthusiastically negotiated stainless steel wire business at the booth.

This fair is not only a supply and demand platform, but also a platform for science and technology exchange.

Tianjin High-End Equipment Research Institute of Tsinghua University, Engineering Design Institute of Hebei University of Science and Technology, and related enterprises have promoted the industry's new products, equipment, materials and processes here. Also, activities such as the "Science and Technology Achievements Express" and the promulgation meeting for the national standard "Metal Wire Braided Dense Weave Screen" have been held.

Anping wire mesh has gone through more than 500 years of inheritance and innovation and has achieved a metamorphosis from traditional handicraft industry to modern industrial clusters, driving the construction of wire mesh gathering areas in surrounding counties and cities, and radiating to all parts of the country and even the world.

There are more than 13,000 wire mesh enterprises and 12,000 marketing outlets nationwide so far, covering all administrative regions at or above the county level. In 2022, the revenue of the wire mesh industry reached 88.3 billion yuan.

Moreover, 24 overseas warehouses have been built, and cross-border e-commerce industrial parks have been introduced, promoting the wire mesh industry's deep integration into the Belt and Road Initiative. In the first seven months of this year, the industry's import and export volume reached 2.88 billion yuan, an increase of 14.2 percent.

The Anping International Wire Mesh Fair has been successfully held for 22 consecutive years, greatly promoting trade and quality improvement in the wire mesh industry.

"Wire mesh is a leading industry in Hengshui city identified by the Hebei Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government. Both Hengshui city and Anping county have formulated five-year development plans for this industry and are fully supporting them. In the future, we will deeply carry out projects such as extending and supplementing the industrial chain, accelerating the digitalization of the wire mesh industry, and constantly stimulating the internal driving force, aiming to develop into a 100 billion-level characteristic industrial cluster," said Dong Xiaohang, mayor of Hengshui city.