The onsite exhibition of the 136th Canton Fair concluded in Guangzhou on November 4. Zhou Shanqing, Director General of the Canton Fair Press Centre, Deputy Director General of China Foreign Trade Centre, introduced the overall operation of this session to the press from home and abroad.
The 136th Canton Fair implemented the guidelines of President Xi Jinping’s congratulatory letters and the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. Under the strong leadership of the Ministry of Commerce and Guangdong Province, and thanks to the concerted efforts of relevant ministries, local commerce departments, China’s diplomatic and consular missions and all the staff, the 136th Canton Fair achieved the goal of excellence, success, security and integrity, and yielded fruitful results. It played a significant role in promoting high-quality growth of foreign trade, facilitating high-level opening up and advancing Chinese modernization.
Overseas buyer attendance onsite hit a new record. As of November 3 (same below), 253,000 overseas buyers from 214 countries and regions attended the Canton Fair onsite, a 2.8% increase from the last session, surpassing the mark of 250,000 for the first time and achieving a record high. Specifically, buyers from Belt and Road countries totaled 165,000, accounting for 60% of the total and marking a 3.7% increase compared to the previous session. The number of buyers from the Middle East witnessed the highest growth and achieved 34,000, marking an increase of 32.6% compared to the previous session. The number of buyers from Europe, USA and Canada showed a significant upturn to 54,000 in total, representing an 8.2% rise compared to the previous session. Among them, buyers from the E.U. totaled 22,000, 22.5% more than that of the previous session, and buyers from USA totaled 8,919, marking an increase of 5.2% compared to the previous session. 146 industrial organizations and chambers of commerce organized buyer delegations to the Fair, up by 18.5%. Representatives of 308 leading multinational enterprises attended this session, exceeding 300 for the first time.
Intended export transaction slightly increased. The export transactions achieved at the 136th Canton Fair onsite reached 24.95 billion USD, a slight increase of 1% compared to the last session. Transaction made by BRI countries accounted for over 50% of the total, and traditional markets of Europe USA and Canada showed a slight increase. Exhibitors expressed that overseas buyers had clear sourcing goals and strong will of cooperation. Going forward, more deals would be reached after factory visits and in-depth engagement.
Innovative products gained extensive popularity. Results of developing new quality productive forces were showcased at the Fair via more innovative products with high technology and increased brand value. 1.15 million new products, 1.04 million green and low-carbon products and 1.11 million products with independent IPR were displayed onsite. Digital, intelligent and green products stood out and were favored by overseas buyers. 435 Canton Fair New Collection events were held and participated by around 3500 buyers onsite. A total of 147 winning products from 120 enterprises won the CF Award, drawing 30,000 visits to the CF Award galleries.
Exhibitors at International Pavilion achieved significant gains. 730 enterprises from 49 countries and regions exhibited in the International Pavilion, 65% of which were from BRI countries and 33% of which were from RCEP member countries. Plenty of international brand enterprises displayed intelligent manufacturing products and quality houseware consumer goods, attracting global buyers’ attention. Companies from Russia, Malaysia, and Vietnam delegations reached intentional cooperation with Chinese companies to bring their products into Chinese market. Delegations from Turkey, South Korea, and Egypt expressed that they achieved fruitful outcomes, and planned to attend the next session.
The online platform operated steadily. Exhibitors of this session uploaded over 3.75 million products on the official website of the Canton Fair, attracting 450,000 overseas buyers from 224 countries and regions to attend the Fair online. Store pages of exhibitors were visited 3.42 million times, including 3.39 million times by exhibitors of the National Pavilion. Exhibitors staged 986 live streaming events and generated 32,000 views in total. The newly launched Canton Fair App has been a popular “mobile assistant” downloaded by 87,000 people.
Supporting activities were held with remarkable success. The 136th Canton Fair held the Seminar on Accelerating Digitalization in International Trade. It focused on the global development trend, China’s progress, and international cooperation of digitalization in international trade to reach consensus and advance win-win cooperation. It was also the first time that international institutions like UNICEF and UNOPS were invited to co-host sourcing briefing that introduced the United Nations procurement and bidding process and participation methods to exhibiting companies, shared procurement cases, and held discussions. Focusing on home appliances, International Cooperation Seminar on Conformity Assessment for Trade Facilitation took place to discuss greater exchanges and cooperation on regional standard and conformity assessment. Moreover, more than 860 trade promotion events were staged, achieving a record high. 348 “Trade Bridge” global promotion events and trade matchmaking activities were held. Specifically, 334 matchmaking activities had drawn 763 buyers and 1747 suppliers to have one-on-one trade matchmaking with intentional orders worth 850 million USD. A total of 55 specialized conferences were held. Among them, 19 industrial conferences attracted an audience of 2,500. The Fair released 10 cutting-edge and trend-focused reports for the first time, including the Report on the Overseas Development of Chinese Brands.
Trade services showed high efficiency and professionalism. The 136th Canton Fair’s Trade Service Area introduced 229 exhibiting companies to offer whole-chain trade services online and onsite, including financial insurance, logistics and warehousing, and testing and certification. The optimized Cross-border E-commerce Zone organized 7 cross-border e-commerce platforms, 34 supporting service providers, and 6 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones to help expand new trade models. The Canton Fair Product Design & Trade Promotion Center (PDC) attracted 113 design companies from 12 countries and regions to participate in design matchmaking, a 9.7% increase from the last session; the PDC received 11,000 buyers and saw nearly 1,400 intentional cooperation of design service.
IPR protection fully played its role. In this session, high-standard IPR protection and trade dispute mediation service were offered to maintain a sound business environment and safeguard companies’ innovative development. IPR infringement cases involving 455 companies were received onsite and online and 206 companies were determined as constituting alleged infringement. 20 trade disputes were dealt with, 12 of which reached mediation. Exhibition certificates were issued for 7 enterprises.
Exhibitors and buyers are welcome to visit the Canton Fair online platform as it continues to operate regularly after its onsite exhibition concluded. The booth application for National Pavilion of the 137th Canton Fair is about to start. Please apply for booths through the official channel.
We look forward to meeting everyone in the 137th session to be held in three phases from April 15 to May 5 in 2025.
