The upcoming Auto Shanghai 2023 will be the first major auto show in China after the lifting of Covid controls.

The dates for the biennial Shanghai auto show have been confirmed and it will be the first major auto show in China after the lifting of Covid controls.

The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition (Auto Shanghai 2023) will be held at the eastern Chinese city's National Exhibition and Convention Center from April 18-27, information on its official website shows.

April 18-19 will be the media days, April 20-21 will be the professional visitors' days, and the general public can enter from April 22-27.

The last time the Shanghai auto show was held was April 19-28, 2021, when there were about 1,000 exhibitors with a total exhibition area of 360,000 square meters. At that time, Covid was under control in China and there was little concern about an outbreak of the virus.

After that, however, several shows have been postponed or canceled as the Covid epidemic has spread at a faster pace.

The Beijing auto show, scheduled for April 21-April 30, 2022, was postponed in early April and canceled on November 10.

The Chengdu auto show, which opened on August 26 last year, was canceled for the remaining six days of the event after only four days due to Covid concerns.

The Guangzhou auto show, originally scheduled for November 18-27, was announced to be postponed on November 4 because of the dire Covid situation in Guangzhou at the time.

In early December, China began to abandon its previously strictly enforced zero-Covid policy, making the hosting of large events possible again, and the Guangzhou auto show was then held from December 30 to January 8, 2023.

The Shanghai auto show will be the first to be held against the backdrop that Covid is largely unconcerned by the public.

With the lifting of Covid controls, the Chinese government's focus has shifted to promoting economic recovery.

On January 29, the Shanghai government released an action plan to stabilize economic growth, which includes the renewal of a 10,000 yuan ($1,500) subsidy to encourage residents to replace their cars with electric vehicles.

In addition, the plan mentioned that Shanghai supports the accelerated resumption of various exhibitions, including the Shanghai auto show.

(Location of the exhibition halls at Auto Shanghai 2023.)