Dear Business Partners, you are holding a publication promoting Czech companies presented at this important trade event. Participating at the 3rd China (Shanghai) International Technology Fair as the Main Partner Country is a prestigious opportunity for the Czech companies and the country itself to show our potential and capability. Needless to say, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic feels a great honor of beingthe co-organizer of this Fair for the very fi rst time. This opportunity is a way of saying that the Czech Republic and its companies have a rightful place on this market and that they are players to be reckoned with. I would like to emphasize that at a time of World Wide Web, online trading, e-auction and similar novelties, trading and investments are done by people – people who meet at business meetings, managers – highly qualifi ed experts who would enjoy checking out the presented novelties, negotiating technical specifi cations and learning about new trends and developments. It is the kind of platform that trade fairs off er and cannot be substituted; at a time over-saturated with information, trade fairs play an irreplaceable role and are an important trading and marketing channel. Technical development and technologies in all areas of human endeavor move forward at a fast pace and the Czech companies are not afraid of presenting their novelties at trade fairs, side to side with those of their competitors; to the contrary, they see it as a challenge. Our producers strive for meeting specifi c customer demands and primarily focus on continuous improvement of product quality, together with reducing their energetic demands and streamlining production processes. Such eff orts correspond to current environmental trends, but fi rst and foremost, it is a way of ensuring competitive pricing. It cannot be doubted that price and quality are the key drivers behind a successful business. Of course, everybody here is interested in selling their products. However, we stand out; as besides our products and services, we off er economic, technical and technological cooperation, share our knowledge, seek partnership and subcontractors for our projects and prospective investments on the global market. What we off er is mutually benefi cial and win-win cooperation. We can all agree that presenting goods and services at trade fairs is an unique opportunity for producers, and a necessary marketing tool, to introduce to customers, clients and the expert public the level and quality of services and technical and technological solutions. I wish you many successful business and social meetings at this outstanding event.