BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Global participants thronging the 135th session of the China Import and Export Fair not only eye traditional merits in China, but also pay more and more attentions to the world market for new opportunities. Taking advantage of the fair, also known as the Canton Fair, as a multilateral business-matching event has increasingly become a new trend among participants across the world.
During the first phase of the fair held from April 15 to 19, some 125,440 overseas purchasers from 212 countries and regions participated in related offline activities, up 23.2 percent from the comparable data for last session.
At the pavilions crowded with visitors, foreign exhibitors busy seizing new orders, new clients and new markets altogether served as a vivid example for how Canton Fair gathered people from near and far to benefit the world.
-- Opening up new market
Every year, U.S. manufacturer Caterpillar comes to the Canton Fair as a VIP exhibitor. This year, the company's booth attracted as usual many acquaintances who inquired about its products for followup contacting or formal negotiation tours to its U.S. headquarter.
A salesman of Caterpillar told media that many purchasers from Asia, Africa and Latin America are surprised by the diverse range of industrial categories that the company has engaged in and are eager to purchase some products to sell in their homelands.
During the Canton Fair, Chinese and foreign clients account for about 30 percent and 70 percent of the aggregate clients attracted to Caterpillar's booth respectively and most foreign visitors came from the Belt and Road partner countries, according to the Caterpillar salesman.
In the import exhibition zone of the Canton Fair this year, many other global manufacturers from Spain, Germany, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Egypt, Italy, the United Kingdom, etc. also exhibited their products together with the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the Belt and Road partner countries.
Ismail Aktolga, an export business manager of Formet, a cooking appliance company from Türkiye, said China market contributes a majority of the company's overseas orders.
Apart from these, Ismail Aktolga also expected to obtain orders from South America, Africa, the Middle East and developed countries such as the U.S. and Canada at the Canton Fair as he could establish contact with global importers.
For certain foreign exhibitors, Canton Fair is a splendid marketplace where they can meet unexpected clients. For instance, many Indian clients visited the booth for Eagle Safes from ROK this time and their number was explicitly higher than the past.
-- Green and low carbon products turn out new favorites for foreign exhibitors
At the 135th Canton Fair, foreign exhibitors who want to get more orders from the Chinese purchasers spare no effort in selecting and presenting products that suit Chinese consumers and producers.
Generally, industrial goods whose production highlights low-carbon emission and consumer goods that are environment-friendly prevail at the fair.
Purchasers learn about solar power generation equipment during the 135th session of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)
When talking about the best-selling products, the Caterpillar salesman pointed to the large industrial ceiling fans hung over his head and said sales of such big industrial ceiling fans surged recently thanks to the energy saving and carbon emission reduction-oriented transformation of manufacturing industry.
In summer, using ceiling fans to replace air conditioners can drop notably energy consumption for factories and the company adopts carbon fiber in related design of its industrial ceiling fans which feature low weight, large wind and low power consumption, according to the salesman.
Xin Bin, vice president of SGS China, said on the forum over "strategic and new opportunities in global market" held during the 135th Canton Fair that alongside the ongoing transformation towards green mode in international trade, there will be more businesses and investors paying attention to supply chain sustainability, which may in turn prompt more companies to opt for more responsible production ways.
In recent years, China has witnessed rapid expansion in trade of green products which are more diversified than those in other countries and boasts relatively more export opportunities in markets with high growth potential and sectors where products have high technology content, added Xin. (Edited by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)
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