Traders have to invest more time after the meeting investigating the credentials and worthiness of their world-be partners. "It is a trust-building process," she noted.

Compared with other industrial fairs or conferences, hosting a service outsourcing meeting costs more as buyers receive paid flights and accommodation, which is the industry norm.

As a result, suppliers are requested to pay for registration. The registration fee helps to screen out weaker players and increase the efficiency of networking, Zhou said.

However, organizers have also set a lower threshold - one-fifth of the official registration fee - for smaller local businesses.

"They need learning opportunities for growth," Zhou said.

Except for business meetings, which are only open to full-fledged registered companies, they have access to workshops and forums where top industry analysts, executives of renowned companies and scholars from around the world exchange insight on hot issues in the sector.

A roundtable conference gives voice to Chinese service suppliers on the opening day at this year's event.

At that time Zhou's council will release a report on leaders and growth companies in China's service sourcing businesses.

And top Chinese service suppliers will share their improvement solutions, intellectual property practices and information security protection.

In addition, a dialog with heavyweight analysts at Gartner, a US IT research and advisory firm, also adds clout to the meeting.