The exterior of the exhibition halls of the 133rd China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as the Canton Fair, on April 15, 2023 Photo: Chi Jingyi/GT

At the ongoing 133rd session of the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, Chinese firms and foreign traders said that China remains irreplaceable in the global supply chain despite some disruptions, while expressing confidence in stable trade growth for the rest of the year. 

"In the first quarter, our company saw surprising growth. Our overall overseas revenues in 2023 will definitely surpass the level of last year, which was over 100 million yuan ($14.6 million)," Zhang Nasu, general manager of Ningbo Saiding Electric Appliance Co, told the Global Times on the sidelines of the Canton Fair.

"We provide products with better quality and more competitive prices. No matter when or how much the customers want the products, we will deliver them on time. We use this all-round advantage to face various challenges from the outside world," said Zhang.

Such a sentiment has been echoed by many firms at the 133rd session of the Canton Fair, scheduled to run from Saturday to May 5, where many expressed confidence in the trade situation in 2023, citing China's all-round advantages when facing global industry chain challenges.

China will be able to maintain a steady trade scale and improve the structure of its foreign trade, and make contributions to the recovery of the world economy, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said on Friday at the opening ceremony of the fair.

In March, China's export volume grew by 23.4 percent year-on-year in yuan-denominated terms, beating market expectations, according to official data.

The Canton Fair, China's largest biannual trade fair, has become a reliable barometer of the country's foreign trade. The 133rd session is the first fully on-site event in three years. 

On Saturday, there were about 370,000 visitors attended the Canton Fair, including 67,000 foreigners. In addition, 410,000 attended the online session, including 280,000 foreigners, according to statistics from the Canton Fair's organizer.

Exhibitors and buyers walk through the exhibition halls at the 133rd China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as the Canton Fair, in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province on April 16, 2023. Photo: Chi Jingyi/GT

Ksenia, a buyer from Russia, told the Global Times on Saturday that she immediately rushed to the exhibition hall for smart home appliances on the first day of the fair.

"I want to learn about the technology iterations of smart appliances. We need smarter products now. During the three years of the epidemic, I visited the Canton Fair website almost every month to see which products were suitable for our market and users. The market is changing so much and I have to see the latest products in person," said Ksenia.

At the exhibition, an underwater automatic robot cleaner displayed at the booth of Shenzhen-based Proscenic attracted a large number of buyers from all over the world.

A buyer from South Korea told the Global Times that he was surprised to see a robot cleaner that works underwater, which was not on his shopping list before he saw it.

"I see a wide range of applications for the robot, such as outdoor swimming pools. Observing industry trends is one of the reasons to attend the Canton Fair. We are able to see the most innovative and cutting-edge high-tech products in the field here," said the buyer.

Sun Song, head of business-to-business operations at Shenzhen Proscenic Technology Co, a home appliance supplier, told the Global Times that it invited customers in Europe to meet at the Canton Fair, so as to show them the company's latest products and technologies. 

The company is a developer and supplier of robot vacuum cleaners.

"Customization is one of the biggest advantages of Chinese products. When our customer chooses a product, we will make customized new products according to local needs," said Sun.

Many Chinese manufacturers said that the strong and complete industry and supply chains in China enabled them to quickly customize products, which is very difficult to realize in other countries.

The global industry chain is changing, and many countries are trying to learn from and replace China in manufacturing. However, this road is not easy. China has the complete advantage, and other countries will not be able to catch up with or surpass it for decades, Zhang Hua, general manager of Ningbo Whicepart Electric Co, a home appliances firm, told the Global Times.

"In order to cope with the unexpected market situation, we need to explore more markets in the world. In addition, we need to increase our research and development efforts to make our products irreplaceable so that users will first choose Chinese products," Zhang Hua stressed.

A buyer from Iraq representing Fair Abu Amer told the Global Times that he trusts Chinese products more. 

"After the epidemic management was downgraded, I came to China and visited Ningbo, Hangzhou, Shengzhou and Yiwu," he said, listing the major manufacturing and export bases.

Iraq's social and economic development is fast, and the demand for household appliances is huge, he said.