Foreign buyers negotiate business at a booth for electronic products during the 136th China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 15, 2024. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)
BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- The 136th China Import and Export Fair, popularly known as the Canton Fair, will be held in three phases between Oct. 15 and Nov. 4 in Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong Province, with products exhibited showcasing intelligent, green and digital features and trends.
The new trends at the Canton Fair, known as the "wind vane" and "barometer" of foreign trade, show the new highlights and constantly-accumulating new advantages of China's foreign trade, according to exhibitors and industry experts.
-- Intelligent products highlight new quality productive forces
The first phase of the 136th Canton Fair, running from Oct. 15 to 19, focused on advanced manufacturing, and a range of humanoid robots, smart devices and unmanned products made their debut. The special zones for smart life, industrial robots, and intelligent manufacturing production lines have attracted nearly 400 exhibitors, with the number of booths exceeding 1,500.
Multiple Chinese companies have displayed intelligently-made new products at the Canton Fair, such as AI washing machines which can provide solutions based on different types of clothing, intelligent locks with intercom, camera and 3D facial recognition capabilities, etc.
It is learned that more than 30,000 exhibitors participated in the offline exhibition of this Canton Fair, and 57.8 percent of the exhibitors used big data, AI, industrial internet and other technical tools to upgrade the industrial chains. The digital intelligent products showcased on site hit 390,000, an increase of 300 percent compared to the previous edition.
The Canton Fair highlights the high-quality development of Chinese products and brands, noted Chu Shijia, head of the China Foreign Trade Centre with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), adding that China is confident in its ability to offer more and better products -- both "made in China" and "created in China" -- to the world.
-- Greening leads new trends
At this Canton Fair, many buyers from Belt and Road partner countries have shown great interest in an electric tricycle product. The roof of the electric tricycle is equipped with solar panels, with a range of up to 100 kilometers and enhanced durability, introduced the exhibitor, adding that it targets short distance travels in countries and regions with incomplete charging facilities.
Green and clean energy is highly favored by overseas consumers, and the exhibition can allow visitors to closely feel the convenience brought by hydrogen technology to life and further understand the rich hydrogen energy application scenarios in the market, said another exhibitor displaying various hydrogen energy products at the Canton Fair, noting that their hydrogen energy shared-bicycle project has been promoted in multiple cities in China, and their hydrogen energy products are exported to Europe, America, and Southeast Asia.
Greening is one of the important trends in the development of international trade, and the Canton Fair actively conforms to this trend by enriching the themes of green energy exhibitions.
According to Xiao Lu, deputy head of the Department of Foreign Trade with MOC, at this Canton Fair, a new hydrogen energy theme has been added to the new energy zone, and a new energy storage product zone has been established, attracting more than 110 new energy exhibitors.
-- Digitalization activates new driving forces
Among enterprises participating in this Canton Fair, 55.9 percent have patents on appearance, practicality, invention, etc. in green and low-carbon fields, and more than 1.04 million green and low-carbon products will be displayed on site, according to a pre-exhibition survey.
While pursuing innovative products, exhibitors are also constantly innovating their exhibition methods. Haier's VR virtual exhibition hall allows customers to immerse themselves in different scenarios such as smart living rooms and kitchens. Home appliance giants such as Midea, Galanz, and AUX have also created online VR exhibition halls that combine immersion and interactivity.
It is learned that the scale of the online exhibition has expanded significantly, with around 48,000 companies uploading approximately 3.75 million products to the platform, an increase of 60 percent and 50 percent, respectively, compared to the previous fair, both of which are historic highs.
Some exhibitors have also experienced the "sweetness" of cross-border live streaming. A digital technology company based in east China's Shandong Province tried live streaming via Alibaba at this Canton Fair, which is for the first time, getting 45 potential buyers in 50 minutes. The company used Alibaba's AI application for new product release in the live streaming, displaying the purchase link in only a few minutes.
Currently, digitization has become an important trend in trade development.
In recent years, China has accelerated the promotion and application of digital technology in trade digitization to empower various links in the trade chain, with new business models flourishing, promoting deep online and offline integration and helping various products reach global consumers directly, said Meng Yue, deputy head of the Department of Foreign Trade with MOC at a seminar held during the Canton Fair.
In the view of industry experts, these new phenomena and highlights at the Canton Fair showcase the new trends and competitiveness of China's foreign trade.
Chinese enterprises are actively embracing technological progress and responding more effectively to market demand, said Zhou Mi, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation with the MOC, adding that meanwhile, the innovative technologies used by Chinese enterprises are also having a wider impact through cross-border industrial chains and supply chains, creating better conditions for mutual benefit between China and its trading partners.
(Edited by Gu Shanshan with Xinhua Silk Road, gushanshan.1987@163.com)
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