A foreign buyer selects products at the culinary and kitchenware exhibition during the 136th Canton Fair on October 23, 2024, in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. Photo: VCG

The autumn session of the biannual Canton Fair concluded on Monday, marking another successful showcase of China's active role in global trade. The fair underscores China's vitality and resilience in foreign trade through a growing number of new products, increased international participation, and a diverse range of trade services and models, participants said.

The 136th session of the China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as the Canton Fair, was held in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, from October 15 to November 4. 

The holding of the Canton Fair is a positive signal for the global trade community, indicating a sustained interest in collaboration and communication. It reflects China's ongoing efforts to enhance its trade environment, making it more inclusive and accessible to international markets, participants said.

Several overseas buyers told the Global Times that the Canton Fair is a vital platform for exploring cooperation opportunities. 

"In addition to economic transactions, the Canton Fair plays a significant role in knowledge transfer between countries. Participants often engage in discussions about best practices in manufacturing processes or marketing strategies tailored for different regions. Such exchanges contribute not only to individual company growth but also foster industry-wide advancements," Zhu Qiucheng, CEO of Ningbo New Oriental Electric Industrial Development, an exporter of pet furniture and home furnishing products, told the Global Times.

All-round diversity 

The Canton Fair is renowned for its comprehensive range of products and exhibitors from China and around the world, alongside a vast number of buyers and visitors eager to establish new business ties and explore opportunities.

The event was held in three phases - phase one (October 15 to 19) focused on advanced manufacturing, phase two (October 23 to 27) focused on "quality home life," and phase three (October 31 to November 4) highlighted a "better life" theme.

During phase one, a large number of cutting-edge technologies and intelligent products were showcased in sections such as new-energy vehicles, smart mobility, industrial automation and intelligent manufacturing. 

Products in phase two and phase three further emphasized innovation, sustainable and low-carbon features, as well as customization options. 

A total of 1.15 million new items were debuted at the fair, and 1.04 million items featured environmentally friendly designs. There were 1.11 million products with independent intellectual property rights, the Global Times learned from the Canton Fair organizers.

"Customers continue to recognize and appreciate our products because we continued to innovate product design and upgrade technology. At present, the annual research and development expenditure accounts for 20 percent of the overall revenue," Yuan Li, a deputy general manager at Guangdong Songfa Ceramics Co, told the Global Times.

Yuan said that the company hopes to use the platform of the Canton Fair to explore emerging markets and let the world see more innovations and strength of Chinese products. 

In addition to a larger selection of products featuring intelligent, green, and high-quality options, more exhibitors attended. More than 30,000 enterprises participated in the on-site exhibition, including 730 enterprises from 49 countries and regions that participated in the international pavilion, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.

The international pavilion was inaugurated in the 101st session in April 2007 to promote balanced growth of import and export and to help international companies explore the Chinese and global markets. 

After 35 sessions of development, more than 17,000 overseas enterprises from more than 100 countries and regions have participated in the international pavilion as high-quality national and regional pavilions, including many world-renowned enterprises, according to the Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM).

"We are making efforts to increase the number of Turkish exhibitors attending the Canton Fair, as this is a big platform to showcase our latest products," a staffer from the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce told the Global Times.

The number of participants at the 136th Canton Fair also surged, while the source regions of buyers participating on-site have been further diversified, showing the breadth and inclusiveness of China's foreign trade market.

By Sunday, a total of 253,000 overseas buyers - a record high - from 214 countries and regions participated in the Canton Fair on-site. Participants increased by 2.8 percent from the previous edition in April and May 2024, according to statistics from the organizer. 

Of these, there were 165,000 buyers from countries participating in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an increase of 3.7 percent. A total of 54,000 buyers came from Europe and America, up 8.2 percent, with 22,000 from the EU, up 22.5 percent and 8,919 from the US, up 5.2 percent. There were 34,000 buyers from the Middle East, an increase of 32.6 percent. A total of 146 industrial and commercial organizations attended the fair, up 18.5 percent. The number of leading multinational procurement enterprises reached 308, exceeding 300 for the first time.

Several exhibitors of the Canton Fair told the Global Times that they are paying more attention to emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, South America, Africa and the Middle East, while also trying to explore traditional markets such as Europe and North America.

The organizer reported that intended export orders from the 136th Canton Fair reached $24.95 billion, an increase of 1 percent over the previous session in April and May. Orders from BRI partner countries comprised over half of all transactions, and the traditional market transactions in Europe and the US increased.

"We have received many orders for our newly debuted artificial intelligence-powered window cleaning robot for household use, mainly from European and Southeast Asian buyers," Niu Liqun, chairman of Shanxi Jia Shi Da Robot Technology Co (JSD Robot), told the Global Times. 

More than 90 percent of JSD Robot's orders are obtained through the Canton Fair, according to Niu.

"The Canton Fair is an important platform to help enterprises go overseas and make China's products go to the world. At present, our products are exported to more than 52 countries and regions," said Niu.

The changes in the customer structure of this year's Canton Fair reflect diverse market dynamics, and also show the flexibility and adaptability of China's foreign trade, said Zhu.

Trends in digital trade

Zhu also noted that Chinese companies have been actively developing online methods, such as e-commerce platforms, to adapt to complex global trade markets.

"In recent years, the industry has been focusing on new markets, such as markets involved in the BRI and the RCEP," said Zhu. 

Latest preliminary estimates show that in the first three quarters of this year, China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports totaled 1.88 trillion yuan ($264.9 billion), an increase of 11.5 percent year-on-year, which was 6.2 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of China's foreign trade in the same period, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

China led the global e-commerce market in 2023, surpassing the combined total of several other countries. China's cross-border e-commerce amounted to 2.38 trillion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 15.6 percent, per GAC data. 

In the first half of 2024, there were more than 100,000 cross-border e-commerce enterprises and over 1,000 cross-border e-commerce industrial parks. The number of overseas warehouses exceeded 1,800. China has signed bilateral e-commerce cooperation memorandums with 31 countries and regions by May 2024, according to the MOFCOM.

The 136th Canton Fair set up an area designated for e-commerce, bringing together seven cross-border e-commerce platforms and 34 supporting service providers to provide exhibitors with convenient, efficient and one-stop trade services.

During the fair, the 2024 Cross-Border E-Commerce Insights White Paper was released, which indicated that Chinese sellers maintained a market share of more than 40 percent in all 13 categories on e-commerce platform Amazon.

To better adapt to the digital trend in foreign trade and serve buyers from all over the world, the 136th Canton Fair significantly enhanced the efficiency of its online platform, aiding in achieving the goal of "never-ending." The online platform has optimized 18 functions, introduced virtual digital humans for the first time, and launched a brand-new Canton Fair application, according to the organizer. 

The number of companies participating online increased significantly, with about 48,000 exhibitors, an increase of 60 percent over the previous session. These online exhibitors had uploaded about 3.75 million products, up 50 percent from the 135th session, both reaching a historical high. A total of 450,000 overseas buyers from 224 countries and regions participated the 136th Canton Fair online, according to the organizer.