China Import and Export Fair to be held online from April 15-24

Apr 11, 2022, 09:15 pm

		0
Chinese visitors attending the 129th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, which was held in Guangzhou for five days on October 15-19 last year./ Source: Xinhua, Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Lee Jang-won

The 131st China Import and Export Fair, widely known as the Canton Fair, will be held online from April 15 to 24, 2022.

Under the theme of domestic and international dual circulation, the largest trade fair in China will provide new opportunities for online exhibition, business matchmaking, and cross-border e-commerce. The fair has set up 50 exhibition sections for 16 categories, and you can participate in activities such as product exhibition and sourcing through the official website. Over 25,000 exhibitors around the world are expected to showcase their products.

The Canton Fair is an exhibition with the longest history of 65 years in China, winning the title of “China’s first exhibition”. Since 1957, the fair has been held twice a year in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Provinces.

Apart from import and export products, the fair covers a wide range of economic activities, including cooperation in economic and technological fields, insurance, logistics, advertising, and services. It is considered one of the three major open exhibition platforms in China, along with the China International Import Expo and China International Fair for Trade in Services.

Eighty-two countries and 155 institutions around the world are participating in the event as partners. The Canton Fair has developed into a public-private cooperating platform with 39 institutions related to the Chinese government’s ‘One Belt One Road Initiative’ and 37 organizations from member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). It also serves as a venue for government officials, economic and trade organizations, and experts around the world to gather and seek multilateral cooperation.

		0
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits an exhibition booth in the exhibition center on Oct. 14, 2021, one day before the opening of the 130th China Import and Export Fair. / Source: Xinhua, Yonhap

The Canton Fair is held at Canton fair complex located at Pazhou Island, Guangzhou, with a total construction area of 1.1 million square meters, and a total area of 340,000 square meters of indoor exhibition halls. When the expansion construction is completed, the exhibition area is expected to increase to 620,000 square meters for the 132nd Canton Fair this fall, making it the world’s largest comprehensive fair complex.

The Canton Fair is regarded as the barometer of China’s foreign trade as it provides latest market trends. Before the pandemic, the spring and autumn sessions of the Canton Fair in 2019 attracted 195,454 and 186,015 buyers to Guangzhou, respectively. The total amount of transactions made through the event in the same year amounted to 59 billion dollars, according to the exhibition.

South Korea has been the largest customer of the fair before the pandemic. Annually, over 15,000 Korean buyers participate in product sourcing. The Canton Fair held its first-ever online version in the spring session in 2020 amid the pandemic. Both the online and offline fairs were held for the autumn session of the Canton Fair last year.

The Chinese government has been stressing its will to free trade through the Canton Fair. In 2021, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang personally attended the event, and said, “Reforming and opening up is a fundamental driving force for China’s development. We will share opportunities of development with countries around the world.”

Again, this year, the Chinese government is expected to emphasize the role of the Canton Fair as a platform that provides business opportunities to companies around the world and its efforts to stabilize the global supply chain amid the complicated international situation.

		0
The 130th Canton Fair unveiled its mascots “Hao Bao” and “Hao Ni” or “Bee” and “Honey” in English, respectively, in 2021. These will be the fair’s fist mascots since its establishment in 1957./ Source: Xinhua, Yonhap