Following the success of the AHEC 21st SEA & GRCH Convention in 2016 in Chongqing, China, it is my pleasure to announce that AHEC 22nd SEA & GRCH Convention is scheduled on June 22 and 23 at the Westin Hotel, Qingdao, China. I sincerely invite you to attend the convention.

Qingdao has been the central hub for commerce, transportation, shipping and logistics, manufacturing and design for the province of Shandong, it has been the venue for The International Furniture and Woodworking Machinery show for the last fourteen years, annually in May. Qingdao is the transportation hub for Shandong, it takes two and half hours by High Speed Train to Jinan-the capital of Shandong and four hours to Beijing and Shanghai. By car it takes less than an hour to the Zhongyun Industry Park and an hour and half to Huang Dao where the Timber Exchange and Distribution Centre and Qingdao Timber Industry Office are located. Over 150 timber importers and distributors set up their trade offices and warehouses in Huang Dao.

According to Ms. Niu , the Executive President of the Shandong Furniture Association, Shandong has been emerging to the biggest solid furniture manufacturing province in China and ranked third the biggest timber importing province after Guangdong and Jiangsu. China’s economy is still in an upward phase and it could maintain a growth rate of around or slightly above 6.5% in 2017. The ban on logging of the temperate forest in the three northeastern provinces effective in 2017 would push up demand of American hardwood which would compensate the weaker Yuan-Chinese currency – the disadvantage for import. The growth of domestic consumption on furniture could be playing a very important role to strengthen China’s number one position in furniture production in the world which also would compensate weak overseas export markets in the years to come. Exports of U.S. hardwood products to Greater China and Southeast Asia were valued at US$1.64 billion and US$0.29 billion respectively in 2016.

The Convention will be hosted by AHEC and supported by the Shandong Furniture Association, Shandong Interior Decoration, Qingdao Timber Industry Association, Shanghai Timber Trade Association and China Institute of Interior Designers Beijing as support organizers etc. It is expected to attract over 400 delegates and over 30 AHEC hardwood exporting members to attend. A mini-trade show will be held at the convention for AHEC members, providing a platform for networking with local traders, distributors, manufacturers and specifiers.

The Convention will help to promote U.S. hardwood for the consumer market. In this Convention AHEC will feature several keynote presentations to address the environmental concerns by introducing the sustainable American hardwoods to the manufacturers, distributors, importers and designers. Shandong Furniture Association would make a short presentation to update Shandong’s solid furniture manufacturing situation and it needs of imported timber to meet the increasing demand in the years to come.

AHEC is grateful for the strong support from the trade and design industries, associations and communities across China and Southeast Asia, media from USA, China and SEA. I would like to thank U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service and Agricultural Trade Office of U.S. Embassy in Beijing, the American hardwood industry and AHEC members for their support. Last, but not least, I would like to thank all the delegates and participants for attending the Convention and I wish you all a fruitful Convention and hope you will make new business partnerships while also enjoying the AHEC program.