67-year "Canton Fair" injects new vitality into global trade

MEDIA CENTER

Oct 31th, 2023

67-year “Canton Fair” injects new vitality into global trade

If someone wants to get a glimpse of China’s economic vitality, he can come to the Canton Fair to take a look.

The 134th Canton Fair, which is being held in Guangzhou, China, is like a miniature “global village”: people from all over the world are shuttling between booths displaying a variety of commodities, and some are carefully checking the commodities and inquiring about the situation; some are putting their preferred samples into the trolley cases they are carrying; and some are placing orders on the spot, sitting down directly with suppliers and signing contracts. Signing a contract ……

Since 1957, the Canton Fair, which has been held twice a year without interruption, has been called “China’s first exhibition”.

In the first Canton Fair, there were only 13 exhibitors and buyers from 19 countries and regions, and 67 years later, there are more than 28,000 exhibitors and buyers from more than 200 countries and regions around the world.

Behind the continuous growth of Canton Fair is the development of China’s economy and the increasingly close economic and trade ties between China and the world.

“There’s nothing you can’t buy, only what you can’t think of.” Zhu Zhiwei, a buyer from Indonesia, has participated in the Canton Fair for nearly 40 times, and this is his most intuitive impression.

Zhu Zhiwei is the purchasing director of Indonesia’s retail giant Changyou Group, and China is the main source of his imported goods. The group imports nearly 350 containers of goods every month, 90 percent of which come from China.

“There are a lot of fairs around the world, but the Canton Fair is the one we value the most.” He said, “From the smallest toothbrush to the largest car, you can ‘one-stop’ purchase all kinds of goods here.”

“China is a manufacturing power with all industrial categories, and the Canton Fair is a centralized display of the whole industrial chain of Chinese manufacturing.” The director of the China Foreign Trade Center, Dushijia, introduced that there are 55 exhibition areas in this year’s Canton Fair, and the commodities displayed cover the whole chain of Chinese manufacturing.

Walking into the sanitary ware products exhibition area of the Canton Fair, you can find bathroom washstands priced as low as 9.9 U.S. dollars, but also see expensive smart bathtubs.

Bathtub products with functions such as massage, swimming and filtration attracted buyers from various countries at the exhibition area of Guangdong Jusi Pool & Spa Equipment Co. “We have achieved a good opening!” Chairman Yu Zelong said that one of the company’s new intelligent swimming bathtub products was spotted by a Dutch buyer on the first day of the exhibition and signed an exclusive agency contract on the spot.

“We are a 30-year-old company that has participated in the fair for 20 consecutive years. The Canton Fair gives us a platform to go global.” He said that most of the company’s partners in North America and Western Europe have developed from the Canton Fair.

Over the years, the Canton Fair has been an important channel for many Chinese enterprises to develop overseas markets. Many companies met their first buyers and signed their first orders here.

Nowadays, with the rise of various exhibitions in China and the continuous expansion of foreign trade channels, Canton Fair is no longer the only channel for enterprises to obtain overseas orders, but it still plays an important role on the world trade stage and has gradually developed into a multi-functional comprehensive trade platform.

“In addition to developing new customers, we also look forward to meeting and chatting with old customers, and also hope to learn more about market demand through the Canton Fair.” said Chen Zukun, general manager of ceramics producer Shandong Yinfeng Co.

Oskarsson, CEO of Icelandic company X18, has attended more than 40 consecutive Canton Fairs and flew tens of thousands of kilometers from Iceland to Guangzhou even though the company has already set up an office in China.

“If you want to do business, you have to know what’s going on, and the Canton Fair is a place to learn about the latest technology and get the latest information.” He said.

The Canton Fair builds a platform for trade and exchange for companies from all over the world.

Lim Chae-jin, deputy manager of South Korea’s Eight Star Co Ltd, who is responsible for acting as an agent for South Korean companies exhibiting at the fair, brought South Korean companies to take nearly 70 booths at the Canton Fair, displaying cosmetics, personal care products, building materials, food, health care products and other specialty products.

“Here you can sell your products not only to China, but also to the whole world.” He said, “Through the Canton Fair, companies can reach all corners of the globe.”

This year’s Canton Fair has exhibitors from 43 countries and regions. Since 2007, the Canton Fair has set up an import exhibition to provide enterprises from various countries and regions of the world with the opportunity to exhibit. Information from the Canton Fair Development History Exhibition Hall shows that as of the 133rd Canton Fair in 2023, a cumulative total of more than 16,000 enterprises from more than 100 countries and regions have exhibited in the Import Exhibition.

Enterprises from various countries have gathered at the Canton Fair, indicating that demand in the world market is recovering and the desire of countries to develop economic and trade relations with China is growing, said Cusco. “The Canton Fair will continue to connect China and the world, guarantee a stable and smooth global industrial chain supply chain, and contribute to the well-being of the world’s people.”