The 133rd China Import and Export Fair, the country's largest trade event scheduled for Saturday to May 5 in South China's Guangdong province, will boost international trade and economic development amid headwinds facing global recovery, officials and company executives said.

China will take the initiative to expand imports and foster strong growth drivers for the global economy, Vice-Premier He Lifeng said on Friday via video link during the opening ceremony of the event, which is also known as the Canton Fair — held semiannually in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong.

In the meantime, greater support will be provided to help Chinese firms complete technological transformation and raise the quality of exports to international standards, he said, adding that industrial upgrading will optimize China's foreign trade structure and enhance efficiency to share more affordable and higher-quality Chinese products with customers worldwide.

Vice-Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen noted that China's foreign trade got off to a steady start in the first quarter, sending a positive signal that the supply capacity of China's foreign trade has been fully recovering. At the same time, China's demand for overseas products is also gradually picking up.

Dedicated efforts will be made to ensure a stable scale of imports and exports, upgrade the trading structure and meet foreign trade growth targets set for the whole year, which will contribute to global economic recovery, Wang said.

Nearly 35,000 enterprises from both home and abroad will attend the trade fair, 9,000 of which are first-timers at the event. China's private businesses, in particular, make up the vast bulk of the exhibitors, accounting for 90.1 percent of the total, Wang added.

Guangdong Roman Technology Co, a Dongguan-based manufacturer of personal care products, is gearing up to secure more orders during the fair as it will roll out various novel products.

"We are looking forward to having in-person talks with our longtime customers and intensifying trade cooperation. On top of this, we will better harness this trade fair to conduct thorough research, keep abreast of evolving market demand and launch products that best meet market expectations," said Yan Youchun, chairman of the company.

The company will showcase its hair dryers powered by highly efficient motors, which have double the service lifetimes of international peers, Yan said, adding that the company's dedicated efforts in homegrown R&D over the past few years have sharpened its competitive edge and put it in a better position to gain more market share this year.

With various high-quality and budget-friendly products in the pipeline, Chinese participants said they are ready to better appeal to global buyers from 226 countries and regions in both developed and emerging markets.

Festa Co, a supplier of party novelties located in Guangzhou, will be wooing potential customers in South America and Australia by leveraging region-specific strategies.

Zhi Caining, general manager of the company's business development department, said that in addition to maintaining robust cooperation with its established customers, the company will display novel products tailored to these two regions to better match their needs.

"The face-to-face communication with old friends will enable us to land new orders — accounting for 30 percent of our annual target — while new products can help us develop new customers and extend our business," Zhi said.