Expanded Canton Fair to boost China's foreign trade, global economic recovery: vice minister

 

(ECNS) -- The 133rd China Import and Export Fair, or Canton Fair, will be held from April 15 to May 5 in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. 

The Canton Fair will fully resume offline activities starting with the spring session this year after China optimized its COVID-19 prevention measures, said Wang Shouwen, vice minister of commerce and China's international trade representative.

According to the intentions of the purchasers, hundreds of thousands of buyers from over 220 countries and regions will participate in offline or online fairs.

In addition to the original exhibition venues, a new exhibition hall of 100,000 square meters has been built. Three phases of exhibitions will be held, which means an increase of 300,000 square meters of exhibition area, a 25 percent increase from before.

Currently, the companies that intend to participate in the import exhibition come from more than 40 countries and regions such as the United States, Canada, Italy, Germany, and Spain. A total of 508 foreign companies will come for import exhibiting, and the number of online exhibitors has reached 35,000. Besides, there are 70,000 booths of 34,000 companies participating in the offline exhibition.

New exhibition themes have been added, such as industrial automation and intelligent manufacturing, new energy and intelligent vehicles, smart living, maternal and child products, "silver economy," testing and protective equipment, which have never been seen on the fair before, according to Wang.

The Canton Fair is an important window to China's opening up and a major platform of foreign trade, serving as a critical channel for Chinese companies to explore the international market and enhance business ties with countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, Wang said.

It will boost both China's foreign trade and global economic recovery this year, he added.