Andy Barbieri, vice president of business development at Truckmaster, signed up several distributors at the first Beijing-based SEMA CIAPE China Business Development Conference last fall. He is one of a growing number of U.S. companies already registered for the 2011 event where he hopes to sign up additional customers.

Sellers of accessories and performance products hailing from every corner of the Chinese mainland who have registered for the upcoming SEMA CIAPE China Business Development Conference—taking place September 7–10, 2011, in Beijing—have identified the products they wish to source from American manufacturers on their growing wish list. They include: suspension upgrades, exhaust systems, bull bars and other products for off-road enthusiasts, U.S.-brand wheels and more generally “performance and engine upgrades.”

This intensive, low-cost familiarization and sales program is the largest annual China-based gathering of American and Chinese specialty-equipment companies. The Chinese street-tuning and off-road modification shops show the diversity already available in China. As Chinese consumers become more brand aware when making purchase decisions, increasingly, they find that they can afford to buy.

 The quality and aspirational value of imported products made by well-known international brands resonates with consumers in both street and off-road circles. When these products are available, they sell well. 



More information on this turn-key set of networking one-on-one meetings with pre-vetted Chinese buyers, as well as networking events and VIP admittance to the China International Auto Parts Expo (CIAPE), is available at www.sema.org/china or by contacting Linda Spencer at lindas@sema.org.