TAPAS is the auto-parts show of Taizhou, a city whose component makers supply both domestic car plants and the aftermarket, and it is built so that buyers can see the parts and the factories that make them in the same trip. Engine, braking, body structures, chassis and instrument lines sit beside new-energy vehicle technology, interiors and exteriors, tuning and accessories, and motorcycle and electric two-wheeler production, so a purchasing team can trace a whole vehicle down to its parts on one floor.

What distinguishes the show is distance. Taizhou suppliers cluster within a short drive of the venue, and the local shorthand for the visit is the exhibition in the morning and the plant in the afternoon — a model that lets an overseas buyer place an order and verify the line that will fill it. Buyers are invited in through a hosted programme from RCEP countries, Belt and Road markets, Europe and North America, and an international sourcing area takes in the overflow from the Canton Fair spring session.