I think if you ask the difference, it may be the difference in theme form. Animation is like, food festival, dog meat festival and so on. This is not a festival, but it feels like a theme celebration.
Depending on the theme, the comic exhibition will have different emphases, such as a press conference and a signing ceremony, so this is the focus of the comic exhibition. There will be some incidental performances and booths, some COS competitions, or some activities.
In fact, you can see the two as one. It's not as good as the summer festival I held two years ago, even the animation festival is also a comic exhibition. Another comic exhibition is the novel signing ceremony. The most popular one is the two-day signing ceremony, and the first day is rather depressed.
Personal opinion, not an insider, so I don't know much about it.