Michael Snow

It is difficult to believe that 2016 marks the 21st consecutive year that the American Hardwood Export Council has been hosting the Greater China and Southeast Asia Convention. The passing of these two decades have witnessed the explosive growth of the Chinese economy, and the ever-closer commercial ties between the US as the world's largest exporter of hardwoods and China as the world's largest importer. This Convention is designed to help further strengthen these bonds, as our aim is not only to introduce US exporters to Asian importers, but also to help foster the relationships between Asian end users and specifiers and the local wood processing industry and distributors of American hardwoods.

This year's event will take place in the interior city of Chongqing, located at the headwaters of the Yangtze River and home to the world's most populous urban area—with an estimated 35 million inhabitants! Building on the success and popularity of the past two Conventions in Nanning and Tianjin, this year's Convention will once again feature extensive "business to business" networking opportunities as well as top-notch speakers and industry experts.

It is no simple matter to put the day-to-day running of a business on hold to attend an event such as this, and we have worked hard to bring together an array of top-flight speakers and experts from around the world. I sincerely hope that you find this Convention to be both timely and useful, and look forward to working with all of you toward creating an even closer bond between the US hardwood industry and Asia's architectural, design and manufacturing industries. Finally, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our friends - Chongqing Furniture Trade Association, Chongqing Furniture Chamber of Commerce, Chengdu Furniture Industry Association, Shanghai Timber Trade Association and China Institute of Interior Designers (Chongqing), for their help and support in organizing this event.

On behalf of the American Hardwood Export Council, it is with great pleasure that I welcome all of you to the 21st AHEC Greater China and Southeast Asia Convention.