FILM & TAPE EXPO 2026 runs from 27 to 29 October 2026 at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center in Bao’an. Organizer Kuozhan Exhibition Services expects 1,200-plus exhibitors and brands, more than 60,000 professional buyers, over 30 technical forums and more than 200 new product launches across 80,000 square meters.
The show covers functional films, adhesive tapes, adhesives and chemical raw materials, and coating and converting equipment. For buyers, two things matter more than the headline scale: which badge gets you in, and what the material prices are doing.
Two cluster brands, one venue
The release places FILM & TAPE EXPO inside ASIA MATERIAL WEEK. The C-TOUCH & DISPLAY Shenzhen 2026 release, issued the same day for the same venue and dates, places that show inside Industrial Technology World Asia. Both names describe overlapping groups of shows in the same halls that week.
The practical reading is that ITWA is the umbrella and ASIA MATERIAL WEEK is the materials cluster within it. NEPCON ASIA’s own site lists the 2026 ITWA lineup as NEPCON ASIA, VISION CHINA SHENZHEN, ES SHOW, ROBOTECH, AUTOMOTIVE WORLD CHINA, FILM & TAPE and C-TOUCH & DISPLAY. One registration covers them.
Treat the 80,000 square meters with caution. The whole ITWA platform is 180,000 square meters, and NEPCON ASIA separately claims 100,000 of that on its own. Add FILM & TAPE’s 80,000 and the two shows account for the entire platform, leaving nothing for the other five. At least one of those figures counts shared or cluster space rather than a dedicated footprint.
The exhibitor and buyer counts look more like this show specifically. FILM & TAPE’s 1,200 exhibitors is a third of the platform’s 3,600, and its 60,000 buyers roughly a third of 170,000. Use those two, not the floor space, to judge how much of the week belongs to materials.
Where the applications are
The exhibitor mix is organised by end use rather than material type, which suits a sourcing visit.
New energy covers battery separator films, aluminium-plastic films and tab adhesives. Automotive covers TPU paint protection film, window film and colour-changing film. Display and touch covers TAC and PMMA films, OCA optical adhesives and backlight optical films for foldable and automotive screens. Consumer electronics and semiconductor covers release and protective films, PI films, thermal-management materials, electronic tapes and wafer tapes.
The Targeted Attendee Program is scheduled to run more than 3,000 one-to-one matchmaking meetings, matched against sourcing requirements submitted in advance. That is a concrete target rather than the usual matchmaking language, and it is the reason to register your requirements early rather than on arrival.
What this means for international buyers
Recalibrate your price expectations on separator film. After years of Chinese overcapacity pushing prices down, the direction reversed in the first half of 2026. SMM reports the daily average price of 7μm plus 2μm wet-process coated base film at 1.145 yuan per square meter in early January, rising through the half as supply and demand tightened. If your last quote is more than a few months old, treat it as stale rather than as a benchmark to negotiate against.
Do not assume the show covers the top of the range. China remains a net importer of high-end separator film, particularly ceramic-coated and aramid-coated grades below 7 microns, where Japanese and South Korean producers hold the technology lead. IndexBox estimates imports at 15 to 20 percent of Chinese consumption by volume in 2026 and 25 to 30 percent by value. For standard wet-process and dry-process grades the show is the right place to source. For the thinnest coated grades it is a place to survey the field, not to close.
Build in qualification lead time. Battery cell makers typically require six to twelve months to validate a new separator supplier. A first meeting in October is a 2027 supply decision, so treat the show as the start of qualification rather than a purchasing trip.
Check the venue and your badge. This is Shenzhen World in Bao’an, near the airport, not the older Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center in Futian. Your ITWA badge does not cover CPCA Show Plus 2026, which runs the same dates at the same venue under the China Printed Circuit Association with its own registration. If you source films for PCB and advanced packaging, register for both.
On entry, China’s National Immigration Administration listed 50 countries under the unilateral 30-day visa-free policy as of 17 February 2026, and consular guidance confirms exhibition attendance is a permitted purpose. The waiver runs to 31 December 2026, so October is inside the window. Carry proof of purpose regardless, since the exit and entry regulations that took effect on 15 September 2026 allow officers to request documents verifying the purpose you stated.
Free trade visitor tickets, hall details and the co-located show list are on the FILM & TAPE EXPO 2026 event page. The official show website carries the exhibitor directory.
Source: Kuozhan Exhibition Services press release via PR Newswire; separator price data from SMM; separator import and export estimates from IndexBox; ITWA lineup and platform scale from NEPCON ASIA; visa-free entry guidance from the Consulate General of China in San Francisco.
