Overseas buyers are attracted by a robot dog on display at the Canton Fair on April 15, 2025 in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. For the first time, a special zone for service robots has been added to focus on the latest achievements of China's AI development. Photo: VCG

The137th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) kicked off on Tuesday in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, with global buyers and exhibitors flooding the exhibition halls despite escalating US tariff pressures. 

The fair, China's biggest trade expo, held biannually, is hosting approximately 31,000 exhibitors, with export exhibitors surpassing 30,000 for the first time - an increase of nearly 900 from the previous session in October 2024. Over 4,200 companies are exhibiting for the first time.

"I tell you the truth, Chinese products are the best. I encourage people to come here to buy from China," Imaddin Mustafa Qolaghasi, a buyer from Jordan, told the Global Times on Tuesday at the exhibition hall of Canton Fair.

Qolaghasi was among the more than 200,000 overseas buyers from 215 countries and regions that had registered to attend the fair by Sunday, with 255 leading global retailers also confirming their participation, including Walmart, Carrefour, Tesco and Metro, according to official statistics, showcasing that the allure of "China's premier trade exhibition" remains undiminished.

Stick to Chinese products

Despite the US "tariff stick," numerous buyers emphasized that Chinese products are irreplaceable.  

A US supplier, who declined to be named, told the Global Times that American buyers remain dependent on Chinese products. "Even when sourcing from other countries, the goods are often still manufactured in China. Whether the tariff is included or the goods are imported from elsewhere, American importers and consumers will ultimately bear the costs." 

"In appliances like air conditioners, Chinese products' price-to-performance ratio has no global rival. While imports may be paused for a month to monitor tariff policies, we'll return to Chinese manufacturers," said the US supplier.  

Qolaghasi, the buyer from Jordan, said that his brother imports Chinese products for the US market. "I advise him to buy Chinese products from other markets to avoid direct tariffs. China provides not only products but also raw materials and even production lines. I respect China's commitment to fair global trade."  

Yahsi Kurtuncu, general manager at Ödül Trophy, a Turkish manufacturer of home appliances, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the US tariffs affect global exporters, in a negative way.

"If Chinese exporters were forced to exit the US market, they'll have to find other markets, which could force local suppliers to lower their prices to compete," said Kurtuncu.

Amid global inflation, buyers prioritize quality and cost-effectiveness. We explored products from Turkey, Egypt, and South Korea at the Canton Fair, but even with tariffs included, Chinese goods are hard to replace, a buyer from Germany told the Global Times, adding that they have difficult decisions to make because "the US tariffs may change every day when I wake up."

Confidence among Chinese exporters

The main reason for global buyers to stick to Chinese products is the favorable price-to-performance ratio. But what makes it happen? Chinese exporters gave their answers at the Canton Fair.

High-quality and high-tech are mentioned by exhibitors reached by the Global Times at the Canton Fair.

"Our surgical robotic arm has higher precision compared to similar US products. All of our algorithms are self-produced, providing greater room for modification and adjustment. Additionally, our production lines are all domestic, resulting in a price that is half that of American counterparts," Meng Li Aili, Chairman of Yuanhua Robotics, Perception and AI Technologies Ltd., told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Therefore, I have confidence in our product. Currently, our orthopedic surgery robot has completed over 4,000 surgeries with a 100 percent success rate, Meng said.

"China possesses the world's most comprehensive supply chain, enabling us to swiftly respond to customer demands and deliver customized production, which constitutes our core product advantage," Cheng Rui, sales director at the International Trade Department of Anhui Shinhoo Canned Motor Pump Co, told the Global Times on Tuesday at the company's booth at the Canton Fair.

Shinhoo's main export markets are Europe, Russia and Central Asia. In terms of revenue, the US market accounts for a relatively small share, which serves as a silver lining in an otherwise unfavorable situation, Cheng said.

"Currently, we are relatively weak in the US market, while performing strongly in the European market. This is partly due to tariffs. However, we are not concerned, as we have a global layout for both sales channels and production bases. Moreover, our products have core technologies, and as long as we make good products, there will always be customers," Cheng Feng, director for air purifier business unit at Dreame Technology, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, numerous exhibitors reported rapid export growth to Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries, with increased inquiries from these regions at the fair, showing a broadened sales channels for Chinese products.

Xu Hai, a sales manager at Jiangsu Fenghai New Energy Seawater Desalination Development Co, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the company expects an export growth of 50-60 percent year-on-year in 2025, based on rapid growth in Africa and South America markets in the first quarter.

"Our major markets are South Asia and Middle East. We received more than 30 clients on Tuesday, the first day, which means a good start," Xu said. 

Wang Cheng, sales director at Shandong Zhancheng Intelligent Manufacturing Co, told the Global Times that 80 percent of the clients they met on Tuesday are from BRI partner countries. "The growth in these markets is expected to offset our losses in the US market," Wang said.

The shift in trade partners can be seen in China's foreign trade in the first quarter of 2025, when trade with BRI partner countries grew 2.2 percent year-on-year, faster than overall foreign trade of 1.3 percent and accounting for 51.1 percent of China's total foreign trade, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Monday.