Nearly 200 Chinese companies join the European Showcase for Brands of China, which is held from Sep 4 -7 at the Autumn Fair in Birmingham, the UK.  [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Birmingham, UK – Nearly 200 Chinese companies took part in an annual event here to promote their brands and products in the European market.

Presenting newly-designed products and advanced technology, they joined the European Showcase for Brands of China, which is being held from Sep 4 -7 at the Autumn Fair in Birmingham.

The exhibits include more than 1000 Chinese products, the most in recent years, according to Wang Shouwen, Director of the Department of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Commerce, speaking at the opening ceremony on Monday.

The products cover kitchen utensils, house wares, textiles and garments, suitcases, toys, gifts, stationery, garden facilities and small electrical appliances.

The purpose of holding the European Showcase for Brands of China is mainly to provide a platform for the European business circles to learn about Chinese branded products, Wang said.

Wang Shouwen, Director of the Department of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Commerce, speaks at the opening ceremony of the European Showcase for Brands of China on Monday.  [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

He also noted that, currently, China is Britain's second largest trading partner outside the EU.

From January to June this year, the volume of China-Britain bilateral trade grew up to $25.5 billion, an increase of 16 percent year-on-year.

Some Chinese exhibitors told China Daily that they are looking forward to extensive economic and trade cooperation with their counterparts in the European Union.

With the acceleration of economic globalization, Chinese manufacturing enterprises are playing an increasingly important role in the world manufacturing industry.

In 2010, China continued vigorously its implementation of a national intellectual property strategy, and made great achievements in IP creation concerning patents, trademarks, and copyright, with patent applications for invention amounting to more than 390,000, ranking second in the world. Besides this, China ranked first in the world in the number of accumulative registered trademark applications, trademark registrations and valid registrations respectively by the end of 2010.

The European Showcase for Brands of China has been successfully held eight times since 2004, and has contributed greatly to the maximization of trade, and further exploration of opportunities for cooperation and promotion of the economic and trade relationship between China and the European Union.