China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair opens on Saturday in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. Photo: Courtesy of the Canton Fair

 

China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair opens on Saturday in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. Photo: Courtesy of the Canton Fair

 
The 132nd China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, opened online Saturday with 40 percent growth of participating exporters, which experts said is a positive sign showing resilience of the Chinese supply chain and strong external demands for Chinese goods despite world economic gloom.

More than 35,000 exporting companies participated in the 132nd Canton Fair, a growth of 40 percent compared with the 131st trade fair. A total of more than three million products have been exhibited during this trade fair, hitting a new high.

Among these exhibits, there are over 130,000 smart products, over 500,000 green and low-carbon exhibits and over 260,000 products with independent intellectual property rights.

Although the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic still exist, some business representatives believe that the Canton Fair held online not only reflects the digital transformation, but can still help small and medium export enterprises to reach overseas customers.

Canton Fair has set up an online platform for small and medium companies to break through the restrictions of the epidemic, said Ye Deta, the chief of LEIYON, a Chinese manufacturer of audio and video products.

China's trade in the first eight months of the year increased by 10.1 percent year-on-year to 27.3 trillion yuan ($3.9 trillion). Although the slowdown in the growth rate in August caused some concerns, experts are still cautiously optimistic about the performance of China's trade in the fourth quarter.

The 40-percent growth in exporters participating in the Canton Fair is a positive sign, reflecting the resilience of China's supply chain and the continued strong demand for Chinese products from overseas companies, even as there are increasing signs point to a potential global economy recession, Wang Jun, a Chinese economist, told the Global Times.

China's export growth in the fourth quarter still faces positive factors, including the strengthening of the dollar against the renminbi and the weakening of the competitiveness of some emerging market countries' exports due to financial difficulties, Wang said.