The "Artificial Gem Capital of the World" Wuzhou City, Guangxi held the 18th Gem Festival

The picture shows the opening ceremony of the 18th Wuzhou Gem Festival. Photo by Yang Zhixiong

  China News Service, Wuzhou, December 3 (Reporter Yang Zhixiong and Huang Yanmei) The 18th Gem Festival in Wuzhou City, Guangxi opened on the 3rd, attracting merchants to gather in the "Artificial Gem Capital of the World" to explore business opportunities. 16 projects were signed on the same day, with a total investment of 11.202 billion yuan (RMB, the same below).

The picture shows the guests visiting the 18th Wuzhou Gem Festival Jewelry Exhibition. Photo by Yang Zhixiong

  The theme of this gem festival is "East Rong Gateway, Chaoyong Wuzhou", which attracted the Singapore Chamber of Commerce in China, the Guangxi General Chamber of Commerce in the United States, the Guangxi General Chamber of Commerce in Thailand, the Guangxi General Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, the Guangxi General Chamber of Commerce in Germany, and the Guangdong Provincial Cross-Strait Exchange Promotion Association Agriculture. The heads of the committee and other business associations and more than 300 enterprises attended the meeting. Velassa Somphon, Consul General of Laos Consulate General in Nanning, and Kyaw Sodeng, Consul General of Myanmar Consulate General in Nanning attended the opening ceremony.

The picture shows the guests visiting the 18th Wuzhou Gem Festival Jewelry Exhibition. Photo by Yang Zhixiong

  Wuzhou is located at the junction of Guangdong and Guangxi. It is the "East Gate" of Guangxi and the birthplace of Lingnan Culture. Since 1982, Hong Kong merchants made the first artificial gemstone in Wuzhou. After more than 30 years of development, Wuzhou has become the world's largest artificial gemstone processing and trade distribution center, with an annual output of over 100 billion gems, accounting for 80% of China's output and more than 70% of the world's total. .

The picture shows people shopping for artificial gemstone jewelry. Photo by Huang Yanmei

  Affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic in 2020, the gem and jade industry once faced a "cold winter". Wang Fang, deputy secretary-general of the China Jewelry and Jade Jewelry Industry Association, said at the Gem Festival that in the face of a series of unfavorable factors such as the new crown epidemic, the gem industry in Wuzhou has responded calmly, and its anti-risk ability has been significantly strengthened. This year, the overall development of the gemstone industry in Wuzhou is good, and the price trend continues to rise, gradually returning to the grand situation before the epidemic.

The picture shows a model displaying artificial gemstone jewelry at a jewelry exhibition. Photo by Huang Yanmei

  According to the "China-Wuzhou Gem and Jade Industry Index Operation and Artificial Gem Industry Development Report in the Third Quarter of 2021", currently, Wuzhou's artificial gem industry has ended the trough stage in 2020, and the two indicators of the industry's total output value and total export value have recovered rapidly. With the domestic consumption power basically returning to normal levels, the total output value of the industry rose sharply in the third quarter of this year.

  Gemstones are an important link for exchanges and cooperation between Wuzhou and the rest of the world. At present, there are about 40,000 employees in the industry. The city is committed to creating the "Gem Capital of the World" and the capital of fashion accessories in China. Jiang Liansheng, secretary of the Wuzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, said that the purpose of holding the Gem Festival is to promote the development of the gem industry and expand the ASEAN and Greater Bay Area markets.

The picture shows people shopping for artificial gemstone jewelry. Photo by Huang Yanmei

  On the same day, the Wuzhou (Zhengwei) Gem and Jade Cultural and Creative Industry Park project invested by Zhengwei International Group, a Fortune 500 company, was opened. The project covers a total area of 3,000 mu. The construction content includes smart factories, smart jewelry, gems, precious metal deep processing, jewelry creative tourism, gem resource trading center, international brand R&D and production and other ecological chains, as well as industrial technology research, financial services, trade , talent training, habitat, culture and other supporting projects.

  During the current gem festival, the Wuzhou Jewelry Exhibition, the Yunshang Gem Art Festival, the launching ceremony of the "Belt and Road" International Gem and Jade Art Design Grand Prix, the 2021-2022 International Gem and Jade Brand Ceremony, and the Global Gem and Jade Artwork Blockchain AI Traceability were held. Platform conference, the first global Huachao gem and jade cultural industry development forum and other activities. (Finish)