The 137th China Import and Export Fair – better known as the Canton Fair – concluded its first phase (15 to 19 April) last week, with local media reporting that a record breaking 64,530 overseas buyers attended the event on its first day, marking a growth of 8.9 percent over the same period last year.
Overall, the event attracted 148,585 overseas buyers from 216 countries during its first phase, a rise of 20.2 percent year-on-year.
According to data from the Canton Fair’s organiser, China Foreign Trade Centre, the foreign buyers included 101,863 individuals involved in Belt and Road countries, up by 20.2 percent year-on-year. As well, there were 38,434 buyers from the BRICS bloc of nations (up 23.9 percent), 29,530 members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (a rise of 4.1 percent), and 23,731 purchasers from Europe and America (up 6.8 percent).
The significant jump in overseas buyers comes in spite of the ongoing trade war between China and the US, and could show China’s economic resilience against Washington’s tariffs, with the fair having been dubbed a “barometer of China’s foreign trade.”
“Faced with the complex and ever-changing international economic and trade situation, companies are actively and flexibly responding by intensifying efforts to explore emerging markets, accelerating technological innovation and enhancing competitiveness,” Gao Shiwang, a representative of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, said in an interview with Chinese state media.
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Jian Zhuhai, the head of the Zhuhai Zhujiang Vehicle, a firm that specialises in motorcycle parts, expressed similar sentiments, noting that his company had already been looking at other emerging markets such as Mexico, Venezuela and Peru prior to the tariffs, and is pivoting towards the domestic market as well.
For its first phase, the Canton Fair showcased a range of Chinese-made goods across its 520,000 square metre floor space, including electronics, manufacturing equipment, vehicles, hardware, tools and lighting products. A total of 25,064 booths were registered during this phase, with 11,304 companies exhibiting.
The second phase of the fair kicked off today and will run until Sunday, displaying goods such as houseware, building and decorative materials, and products relating to gifts and decoration. A third and final session will take place between 1 and 5 May, and will feature companies that specialise in fashion products, home textiles, toys, maternity goods, stationery, health and recreation products and traditional Chinese specialities.
Meanwhile, the 138th Canton Fair is scheduled to take place in three phases between October and November.
Inaugurated in 1957, the Canton Fair is considered to be the biggest trade show in China, with the event scheduled twice a year in Guangzhou in the spring and autumn.
