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The 134th Canton Fair offline exhibition was successfully concluded on 4 November in Guangzhou, with the online platform running regularly. The Chinese government attaches great importance to the Canton Fair. President Xi Jinping has twice sent congratulatory letters to the Canton Fair, fully affirming the historical role of the Fair and pointing out the development direction for the Fair. With the support of the Chinese government, this Canton Fair has been running smoothly and achieved positive results, promoting the stability of the scale and optimization of the structure of foreign trade and facilitating the opening up of trade to the outside world at a high level.
It highlights the innovative strength of China’s foreign trade.
The optimization of the exhibition structure of this Canton Fair has achieved remarkable results, and a large number of innovative exhibits have emerged. Exhibitors uploaded over 2.75 million exhibits on the online platform, of which over 700,000 were new products, about 110,000 were innovative products, over 430,000 were green and low-carbon products, and about 230,000 were products with independent intellectual property rights. A total of 401 events were held for the debut of new products. The Canton Fair Design and Innovation Award (CF Award) 2023 Award Ceremony was held, awarding 141 innovative products from 118 organizations. New products, technologies, materials, processes, and services emerged in an endless stream, with high-end intelligent, green, and low-carbon products becoming mainstream and highly favored innovative and creative products. From small and beautiful consumer new products to high-precision cutting-edge technology, from pure OEM to private brands overseas, from selling products to providing solutions, from traditional industries to emerging fields, Chinese enterprises continue to climb up to the middle and high end of the industrial chain, which demonstrates the solid developmental resilience and innovative vitality of China’s foreign trade.
Overseas buyers participated in the Canton Fair enthusiastically.
A more open and dynamic Canton Fair has attracted buyers from all over the world. As of 3 November (the same as below), overseas buyers from 229 countries and regions participated in the online and offline fair. Among them, 197,869 overseas buyers participated in the fair offline, an increase of 53.4% over the 133rd session and 6.4% over the 126th session before the epidemic. There were 126,343 buyers from “The Belt And Road” countries, accounting for 63.9% of the total buyers, an increase of 68.6% over the 133rd session. A total of 117 industrial and commercial organizations participated in the event, including the China General Chamber of Commerce (Malaysia), the Hungarian Entrepreneurs and Employers Association (Hungary), the Peruvian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (Peru), the Brazilian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (Brazil), and the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Lagos). One hundred sixty-five multinational headquartered enterprises organized their buyers to participate in the event, including Walmart (the US), Tesco (the UK), Aldi (Germany), and Aeon (Japan). Four hundred fifty-three thousand eight hundred fifty-seven overseas buyers attended the online fair, an increase of 16.2% compared with the 133rd fair. Overseas buyers gave a high appraisal to the Canton Fair, considering it a “treasure platform” where one-stop purchasing can be realized, and Made-in-China is widely welcomed by the global market.
Its export turnover is in a vital trend.
The offline export turnover of this Canton Fair is 22.3 billion US dollars, an increase of 2.8% over the 133rd session, showing a healthy growth trend. The export turnover of branded enterprises is 6.35 billion US dollars, an increase of 7.8 percent over the 133rd session, accounting for 28.5 percent of the total export turnover. The export turnover of branded enterprises was 6.35 billion USD, an increase of 7.8% over the 133rd session, accounting for 28.5% of the total export turnover. Exhibitors said that the rapid return of overseas buyers pushed up the warmth of the exhibition; buyers, in addition to the on-site signing orders to see the factory, workshop, production capacity, and other follow-up appointments, are expected to reach more cooperation. The quality of overseas buyers attending this Canton Fair has improved, and the orders have been placed actively, further strengthening enterprises’ confidence in next year’s foreign trade exports.
Import exhibition helps overseas enterprises to expand the global market.
A total of 650 enterprises from 43 countries and regions participated in the Canton Fair Import Exhibition, of which 60% were exhibitors from the countries where “The Belt And Road” was built. Relying on the Canton Fair Import Expo platform, many industry benchmarks and internationally renowned brand enterprises focused on displaying intelligent manufacturing products, quality home and leisure life. Important pavilions gained a lot. Japan Pavilion first-time exhibitors on-site and Chinese enterprises signed a considerable value of multiple orders. As the largest national pavilion, Turkey has responded positively to the invitation to participate in the next session and made severe preparations. Overseas exhibitors said that the Canton Fair Import Exhibition has set up a fast channel for them to enter the Chinese market, allowing them to share the super flow of the Canton Fair. At the same time, they also met many customers worldwide, which brought new opportunities for expanding the global market.
The online platform adds strength to enterprises’ customer acquisition.
The cumulative number of visitors to the online platform of the Canton Fair was 7.89 million, of which 6.6 million were from abroad, accounting for 84 percent. Exhibitors’ shops had a cumulative total of 4,386,000 visits, including 4,348,000 visits to the shops of exhibitors in the export exhibition and 38,000 visits to the shops of exhibitors in the import exhibition. Exhibitors accumulated 3,362 online shows, which about 30,000 people viewed. Compared with the previous sessions, the online platform is more convenient for business opportunity management, more professional for displaying content, and smoother for supply and procurement docking, which exhibitors generally welcome. Some enterprises made full use of the advantages of the 24/7 operation of the Canton Fair online platform to carry out attraction and promotion in advance for the market demand of different countries and regions and attract target customers to visit offline.
The series of trade promotion activities has achieved noticeable results.
The Canton Fair held 61 “Trade Bridge” trade promotion activities in 37 countries and regions, with more than 2,100 participants from domestic and overseas industrial and commercial organizations, buyers, and suppliers, of which 36 supply and procurement docking activities attracted nearly 250 buyers and about 750 suppliers for docking and negotiation. More than ten seminars were held to promote imports of food and agricultural products, economic and trade cooperation among local trade missions, enterprise promotion, etc., announcing the signing of several projects and contributing to developing the local open economy.
The role of the comprehensive platform continues to manifest.
The Canton Fair actively enriched the mode of business, expanding functions and striving to build a multi-functional comprehensive platform integrating information exchange, industry promotion, and trade services. A total of 21 forums were held, including seven industry forums focusing on industry and trade hotspots, and 87 experts from politics, business, academia, and research were invited to attend, contributing wisdom to the high-quality development of trade. Ninety-one design companies from 8 countries and regions participated in the Design Matchmaking at the Product Design and Trade Promotion Centre (PDC) of Canton Fair. The Trade Service Zone (TSZ) introduced 217 exhibitors, providing services such as finance and insurance, logistics and warehousing, testing, and certification on and offline. The Canton Fair used 100% green power, held three “Green Time” activities, and awarded 82 enterprises with the 133rd Green Booth Award, giving full play to the leading role of green development in the Canton Fair.
They have enhanced the effectiveness of intellectual property protection.
The Canton Fair received IPR complaints online and offline involving a total of 444 complained enterprises, and 197 enterprises were finally found to be suspected of infringement; 29 trade disputes were accepted and mediated, with a high success rate of mediation. The adequate protection of intellectual property rights at the Canton Fair not only safeguards the innovation and development of enterprises but also strengthens the international community’s confidence in conducting economic and trade exchanges with China, which all parties highly affirm.
The service quality of the exhibition was significantly improved.
The total number of passes issued for this Canton Fair was 638,000, the flow of visitors into the hall was 2.75 million, the number of people entering the hall was 1.77 million, the number of vehicles entering the hall was 44,000, the number of meals served was 1.01 million, the number of booths set up was 74,000, the number of carpets laid was 1,040,000 square meters. The number of guiding signs installed was 60,000; all these were tested without any problems. In the face of large-scale people, logistics, traffic, the Canton Fair licensing, traffic, catering, on-site services, removal and replacement of all aspects of the exhibition have withstood the test, there are no long queues to enter the hall, dining phenomenon, the overall service is safe and orderly, the exhibitors have praised.
Provincial and municipal territorial protection was solid and practical.
Guangzhou Municipality of Guangdong Province strengthened work coordination, provided perfect local services and guarantees, and created a warm and hospitable city atmosphere. Promotional posters and videos for the Canton Fair were broadcasted at key publicity points such as airport highways, major arteries, key business districts, city landmarks, and the periphery of the exhibition halls, and 1,000 drone shows were carried out. Professional forces such as fire-fighting, gas, drainage, power supply, landscaping, sanitation, and communications were coordinated to strengthen the guarding of critical areas, and the exhibition site and its surroundings were in good order, safe and stable. Enhancement of public transport security, with a daily average of 92,000 passengers transported in and out of the exhibition halls. Optimizing traffic organization, the congestion index during the exhibition dropped by 14.6% compared with the previous year, and the traffic environment was significantly improved compared with last year. It implemented the policy of 144-hour visa-free transit for foreigners. It provided visa-free facilitation services such as “pre-acceptance before arrival and exemption of documents after landing” for eligible entrants. Set up a unique channel for business people at the Canton Fair, optimize immigration facilitation services during the Canton Fair, Baiyun International Airport, Pazhou Hong Kong, and Macao Ferry Terminal daily entry and exit of more than 30,000 people. Establishing 100 volunteer positions and selecting 3,000 volunteers around the exhibition halls for domestic and foreign business people to provide a full range of volunteer services. Key business districts and major attractions were mobilized to launch exclusive offers for Canton Fair visitors, and 15 million yuan of consumption coupons were issued at the Canton Fair Complex, bringing visitors a rich and diversified cultural, commercial, and tourism experience.
After the closing of the Canton Fair, the online platform will continue to be open, and the remaining functions will be operated regularly throughout the year, except for the functions of exhibitors’ connection and appointment negotiation. Canton Fair will organize a series of trade docking and industry-themed activities according to the needs of both supply and procurement sides and welcome the majority of exhibitors to continue to pay attention and actively participate. The 135th Canton Fair will be held from 15 April to 5 May 2024.
