The 138th China Import and Export Fair – better known as the Canton Fair – opened on Wednesday in Guangzhou with record-breaking participation, even as exporters voiced growing concern over the fallout from US-China trade tensions, according to multiple media outlets.
This edition of the fair, which runs from 15 October to 4 November, has reportedly drawn more than 32,000 exhibitors and 74,600 booths – the highest numbers of both in the event’s 68-year history. Organisers say over 240,000 buyers from 218 markets had pre-registered as of Monday, up 10 percent from the previous session, including from the European Union (EU), Belt and Road countries, and the US.
However, Chinese exporters in various industries said they were veering away from the US market due to ongoing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. US President Donald Trump recently said he was considering hiking tariffs on Chinese imports by another 100 percent.
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Louis Huang, a lighting exporter from China’s eastern Zhejiang province, told the South China Morning Post that many of his company’s US buyers decided against attending the 2025 Canton Fair. “Our US orders have shifted to Southeast Asia. The US market is essentially lost, so we can’t afford to lose the European market,” he said.
Recent Chinese trade statistics showed exports bound for the US were down 27 percent year-on-year in September, while shipments to the EU, Southeast Asia and Africa grew by 14 percent, 15.6 percent and 56.4 percent, respectively.
Established in 1957, the Canton Fair is widely viewed as a barometer of China’s foreign trade. This autumn edition is reportedly showcasing around one million new products, with 800,000 debuting at the event. It also introduced a “smart medical zone” featuring surgical robots and wearable devices, alongside a “service robot zone” where humanoid robots, robotic dogs and other innovations are on display.
