The 139th Canton Fair opened on April 15th, attracting a vast number of international buyers to Guangzhou. Many were seen navigating the exhibition halls with their luggage, actively visiting booths and making purchases. The venue, spanning 1.55 million square meters, buzzed with the energy of a vibrant marketplace.
According to data, pre-registered buyers for this session exceeded 210,000, a 20% increase year-on-year. Participation from 290 major global purchasing entities, including Walmart from the US, Sainsbury's from the UK, and Samsung Electronics from South Korea, was confirmed, representing a 30% growth. Furthermore, 148 overseas business associations, such as the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Switzerland Global Enterprise, gathered in Guangzhou, a 17.5% rise.
On the exhibition floor, booths focusing on areas like robotics and smart wearable devices were consistently crowded, with foreign buyers showing intense interest in Chinese high-tech products. At the booth of Zhiyuan Innovation (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd., numerous buyers stopped to take pictures of the Juechen C5 floor-cleaning robot. A buyer from Peru, Miryan, planned to initially purchase several units as samples and expressed interest in becoming a future agent for the product. She noted the device's high level of intelligence, combining sweeping and mopping functions with easy maintenance, and anticipated it would be well-received in the Peruvian market.
Deep, a buyer from New Delhi, India, engaged in a thirty-minute discussion with staff from iFlytek. Deep, who runs a software company in India, hopes to collaborate with iFlytek to integrate its translation technology into his software, aiming to sell the enhanced product in over 100 countries. At the end of the conversation, he directly asked Lin Huijie, General Manager of iFlytek's Consumer Wearable Devices Business Unit, about two key concerns: product pricing and minimum order quantity requirements.
"After returning home, I will definitely recommend this translation headset from China to my friends; it's incredibly smart," said Rogerio, a buyer from Brazil. Wearing iFlytek's self-developed translation headset, he and Lin Huijie conversed effortlessly in their native languages, with the headset providing accurate, real-time translation. Lin Huijie raised his wrist to display his smartwatch, which showed the ambient noise level at the venue had reached 89 decibels. Rogerio remarked, "Even in such a noisy environment, the headset still manages to translate almost flawlessly, which fully demonstrates the product's practicality."
Another Brazilian buyer, Lucas, stated that products manufactured in China are known for their durability, high quality, and outstanding value for money, making them highly competitive in overseas markets. He mentioned that Chinese brands are synonymous with good quality at affordable prices. He added that the large number of exhibiting companies and the high quality of products at the Canton Fair provided ample choices for his company's purchasing needs, with their intended procurement budget for machinery products reaching the million-dollar level.
While established "regulars" at the fair continued to attract international buyers, first-time exhibitors also garnered significant attention. Zhangxue Motorcycle from Chongqing made its debut at the Canton Fair. Last month, at the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) middleweight race in Portugal, French rider Valentin Debise, riding a Zhangxue Motorcycle (number 53) 820RR-RS model, secured back-to-back victories, achieving a historic breakthrough for a Chinese motorcycle brand in this top-tier competition. This championship win significantly raised the global profile of Zhangxue Motorcycle. Numerous visitors stopped to take photos at its booth.
A buyer from Azerbaijan, Elnur, said he only learned about the brand after its championship victory, which sparked his strong interest in the Chinese motorcycle industry. He planned to visit all Chinese motorcycle exhibitors at the fair hoping to secure cooperation opportunities. After inspecting Zhangxue Motorcycle's products on-site, he immediately expressed intent to purchase over a hundred units. A buyer from Singapore, Frankie, candidly stated his desire to become an agent for Zhangxue Motorcycle. He believes that now the brand has gained recognition in mainstream international markets, its future growth potential is substantial, and he is confident the entire Chinese motorcycle industry has broad prospects for development.
According to the Canton Fair organizing committee, among the 32,000 exhibiting companies, 60% possess their own brands. Nearly 20% have engaged in outward investment, collectively contributing over 200,000 local jobs and making positive contributions to local economic and social development. The Canton Fair will continue to optimize its services, closely aligning with the entire lifecycle of product export, brand globalization, and corporate internationalization to provide more comprehensive support.
At a recent press conference, Wang Zhihua, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Commerce, described the Canton Fair as a barometer and bellwether for China's foreign trade. In the new era, efforts will be made to better leverage the fair's role. This includes adapting to new trends in foreign trade, keeping pace with industrial transformation, listening to corporate feedback, and dynamically adjusting exhibition themes to help more new companies, products, and technologies reach the global market. Additionally, innovation in business models is encouraged. For instance, an increasing number of exhibitors are shifting from merely offering products to providing "product + service" packages. Preliminary research indicates over 7% of exhibitors already offer integrated "hardware + software + service" solutions to partners, with nearly 30% transitioning towards this model.
Zhu Yong, Director-General of the China Foreign Trade Centre, stated at the same conference that while attendance from Middle Eastern buyers at some global exhibitions has recently seen fluctuations, their willingness to participate in the Canton Fair remains strong. Consequently, tailored service packages have been introduced, including online matchmaking for Middle Eastern businesses unable to attend in person, specialized live-streamed tours on overseas social media platforms targeting the Middle East, and optimized services for Middle Eastern companies based in China. "This demonstrates that Canton Fair buyers are not just traveling long distances; they are upholding the multilateral trading system and pursuing mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. We will fully utilize the Canton Fair's function as an open platform, illuminating every journey made by global merchants and enabling them to share in new opportunities from China's development," she said.