The 134th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) concluded Saturday in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, with export deals worth $22.3 billion in total signed offline.

The event has played a significant role in stabilizing the scale and optimizing the structure of foreign trade, facilitating high-level opening-up and boosting the development pattern.

Xu Bing, spokesperson of the Canton Fair and deputy director general of China Foreign Trade Centre, said the online platform would continue to operate after the conclusion of this session. Besides livestreaming and negotiation appointment, other website functions will remain available all year round.

The 134th Canton Fair attracts wider participation from overseas buyers. As of Nov3, a total of 198,000 overseas buyers from 216 countries and regions have attended the fair offline.

Innovation capacity

The 134th Canton Fair showcased innovation-based capacity of China’s foreign trade with the optimized exhibition structure, top-notch products, the latest technologies, new materials, processes and services.

Chinese enterprises at the 134th Canton Fair had been making steady progress towards the high-end of the global industrial chain and demonstrated the resilience and vigor of China’s foreign trade.

More than 2.75 million products are displayed online, including some 700,000 new products, 110,000 intelligent items, over 430,000 green and low-carbon products and about 230,000 products with independent intellectual property rights.

The 2023 Canton Fair Design Award was granted to mark 141 winning products from a lineup of 118 exhibitors.

More overseas buyers

The 134th Canton Fair saw a growth in both the quantity and quality of overseas buyers who exhibited greater promptness in placing orders, further enhancing exhibitors' confidence in export for the coming year.

As of Nov 3, buyers from 229 countries and regions attended the Canton Fair online and onsite. Specifically, 197,869 overseas buyers attended the Fair onsite, a 53.4 percent increase from the 133rd session.

Buyers from countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative totaled 126,343, accounting for 63.9 percent of the total, marking a 68.6 percent increase compared to the previous session.

A total of 117 business organizations attended the fair, including the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers from Hungary, the Peruvian Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Brazil and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry from Nigeria.

More than 165 leading multinationals attended the exhibition, including Wal-Mart from the United States, Tesco from the United Kingdom, Aldi from Germany and AEON from Japan.

Export transactions

The export transactions achieved at the 134th Canton Fair onsite reached $22.3 billion. Transactions with BRI countries amounted to $12.27 billion. In addition to onsite transactions, buyers also made appointments to visit factories, workshops and assess production capabilities.

International exhibitors

The 134th Canton Fair attracted 650 exhibiting companies from 43 countries and regions, with exhibitors from the BRI countries accounting for 60 percent of the total.

Plenty of industry benchmark and brand enterprises leveraged the International Pavilion to showcase a wide range of products, including smart manufacturing, quality household items and recreation products.

Overseas exhibitors said the International Pavilion provided them with a fast track to enter the Chinese market and allowed them to tap into the achievement of China's economic development.

Online platform

In this session, the online platform received 7.89 million visitors in total, among which 84 percent, or 6.6 million, were overseas visitors.

Store pages of exhibitors attracted 4.39 million visits, including 4.35 million to exhibitors in the National Pavilion and 38,000 to those in the International Pavilion. Exhibitors staged 3362 livestreaming events in total, attracting around 30,000 views.

The continued enhancement in business management, content presentation and trade matchmaking on the online platform was well received by suppliers and buyers.

Trade promotion

The 134th Canton Fair held a total of 61 "Trade Bridge" global promotion events in 37 countries and regions, attended by a total of 2,100 domestic and international representatives of industrial and commercial organizations, buyers and suppliers.

A total of 36 trade matchmaking activities had drawn nearly 250 buyers and 750 suppliers. More than 10 promotion activities for characteristic industries were held to boost import of food and agricultural products and economic cooperation among local trading delegations.

A comprehensive gala

The fair enriched business functions and served as a multi-functional platform integrating information, industrial promotion and trade services.

A total of 21 forums were held, of which seven focused on industry and trade hotspots, and 87 experts from political, business and academic circles were invited to provide their expertise and insights for high-quality trade development.

Trade Service Area introduced 217 exhibiting companies to offer online and offline services such as financial insurance, logistics and warehousing, testing and certification. The 134th Canton Fair utilized 100 percent green electricity, held three "Green Space" Activities and honored 82 companies with the 133rd Green Booth Award.

IPR protection

The fair's effective IPR protection not only safeguarded innovative development of enterprises, but also bolstered confidence of international community in carrying out economic and trade exchanges with China. 

High-quality services

The 134th Canton Fair issued a total of 638,000 badges, received 2.75 million visits and 1.77 million visitors as well as 44000 vehicles, built 74,000 booths and served 1.01 million meals. The fair excelled in badge registration, traffic, catering, onsite services, booth dismantling and setups.

Support of local government

Guangzhou government strengthened arrangement to provide comprehensive  services. Skilled personnel were deployed to various areas related to fire safety, gas systems, drainage, power supply, landscaping, sanitation and communication to guarantee a smooth and secure environment in and around the exhibition venue.

Public transportation capacity was enhanced and 92,000 passengers per day took public transportation in and out of the complex.

The 144-hour visa-free transit policy was implemented, providing eligible individuals with visa-free service. Canton Fair Channel for buyers was also set up to optimize border exit and entry service.

During this session, more than 30,000 people traveled through Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Pazhou Ferry Terminal per day. A total of 3,000 volunteers were selected for 100 positions around the complex to provide buyers with comprehensive assistance.