The 135th Canton Fair Successfully Held with 246,000 Overseas Buyers Attending Offline.

The 135th Canton Fair concluded successfully on May 5th in Guangzhou, with the online platform continuing its regular operation. Ms. Zhou Shanqing, Director of the Canton Fair Press Center and Deputy Director of the China Foreign Trade Centre, briefed domestic and foreign media on the overall operation of this session.

The Party Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to the Canton Fair. General Secretary Xi Jinping sent congratulatory messages to the fair twice, fully affirming its significant role and providing direction for its development. During this session, Premier Li Keqiang held discussions with representatives of overseas buyers and exhibiting companies, toured the fair, and visited the exhibition on the fair's development history. He emphasized the need to thoroughly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on hosting the Canton Fair well, deepen reform and opening up, adhere to innovative development, build a Canton Fair that never ends, and lead the market, promote the continuous improvement of the Canton Fair, and let this "golden signboard" continue to shine with new vitality.

Under the warm care of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and through the joint efforts of relevant ministries and commissions, local commerce authorities, overseas institutions, and all participants, this session of the Canton Fair has further innovated mechanisms, enriched formats, and expanded functions, achieving success, brilliance, and unforgettable experiences, and making positive contributions to promoting the qualitative and quantitative stability of foreign trade, promoting high-level opening up, and serving the establishment of a new development pattern.

The number of overseas buyers attending the fair reached a historical high. As of May 4th, a total of 246,000 overseas buyers from 215 countries and regions attended the fair offline, an increase of 24.5% over the previous session, setting a new record. Among them, there were 160,000 buyers from Belt and Road countries, an increase of 25.1%; 61,000 buyers from RCEP member countries, an increase of 25.5%; 52,000 buyers from BRICS countries, an increase of 27.6%; and 50,000 buyers from Europe and America, an increase of 10.7%. A total of 119 business institutions, including the China General Chamber of Commerce, the UK's 48 Group Club, the Canada-China Business Council, the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce in Turkey, the China General Chamber of Commerce in Malaysia, and the Victoria Building Industry Association in Australia, organized groups to attend. 226 multinational leading companies such as Walmart from the United States, Auchan from France, Tesco from the United Kingdom, Metro from Germany, IKEA from Sweden, Copel from Mexico, and Sibanye from Japan organized buyers to attend. Overseas buyers highly praised this session of the Canton Fair, believing that China has the best supply chain, and the Canton Fair is the best platform for them to realize one-stop procurement.

Exports showed a trend of recovery. As of May 4th, offline export transactions at this session of the Canton Fair reached USD 24.7 billion, an increase of 10.7% over the previous session. Emerging market merchants were active in transactions, with transactions with Belt and Road countries reaching USD 13.86 billion, an increase of 13% over the previous session. Per capita transaction prices in traditional European and American markets were high. The online platform became increasingly active, with export transactions reaching USD 3.03 billion, a year-on-year increase of 33.1%. Participating companies stated that the enthusiastic buyers brought about an increase in orders. In addition to on-site signing, buyers continued to make follow-up appointments for factory visits and capacity inspections, and are expected to achieve more cooperation in the future.

New quality production capacity stimulates new foreign trade momentum. Participating companies at this session of the Canton Fair showcased over 1 million new products on-site and held 334 events for the first release and debut of new products. Companies uploaded a total of over 2.54 million exhibits on the online platform, including 660,000 new products, 100,000 smart products, 400,000 green and low-carbon products, and 210,000 products with independent intellectual property rights. At the Canton Fair, new products, technologies, materials, processes, and ideas emerged one after another, with more high-end, intelligent, green, and low-carbon products reflecting the results of new quality production capacity development, receiving warm reception and favor from the international market, showcasing the hard strength of "Made in China" and injecting new vitality into foreign trade development.

Import exhibitions provide new space for foreign enterprises. The import exhibition of this session of the Canton Fair attracted 680 companies from 50 countries and regions, with Belt and Road countries accounting for 64%. Many internationally renowned companies concentrated on exhibiting smart manufacturing and high-quality consumer products, attracting global buyers to negotiate cooperation. Important exhibition groups achieved fruitful results and returned with full load. Exhibition groups from countries such as South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia signed multiple orders with Chinese companies on-site. Exhibition groups from Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and India plan to continue participating in the next session as groups, with some considering expanding the range of themes. Participating companies in the import exhibition stated that the Canton Fair provides a valuable platform for companies from various countries to share Chinese opportunities and explore global markets. Every visit to the Canton Fair can feel the innovation and vitality.

The online platform operated smoothly. A total of 408,000 overseas buyers attended this session of the Canton Fair online, from 229 countries and regions worldwide. The cumulative number of visits to exhibitors' shops reached 3.412 million, including 3.376 million visits to export exhibition participants' shops and 36,000 visits to import exhibition participants' shops. Participating companies held a total of 1,291 online showcases, with a total of 17,200 viewers. This session of the Canton Fair's online platform has increased online showcases, VR factory visits, 3D photography, and other digital technologies and intelligent traffic, and there has been a significant increase in the number of buyers' inquiries.

The continuous manifestation of comprehensive functions. This session of the Canton Fair focuses on building a comprehensive platform integrating trade docking, information exchange, design innovation, and trade services. It held 264 "Trade Bridge" series activities for global promotion and supply and procurement docking. Among them, 249 supply and procurement docking activities attracted 420 buyers and 1,420 suppliers for one-on-one negotiations, with an intended procurement amount exceeding USD 340 million. It set up the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area "9+2" urban import and export trade and economic activities zone to provide trade and economic cooperation and exchange services for exhibitors and participants in the Greater Bay Area. It held 12 themed industry events covering topics such as the development of new quality production capacity and industries, empowering high-quality outbound with new channels and models, new strategic opportunities in the global market, and intellectual property protection. The Canton Fair Product Design and Trade Promotion Center (PDC) attracted 103 design companies from 8 countries and regions to participate in design docking, an increase of 13% over the previous session. The trade service area introduced 230 companies to exhibit, providing financial insurance, logistics warehousing, testing and certification, and other services online and offline. For the first time, it set up a cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouse display area, with 5 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive trial zones organized by 11 provinces