When the four-day 34th East China Fair (ECF) concluded in Shanghai recently, its bumper harvest of about 2.2 billion U.S. dollars of intent orders attested again to the vitality and resilience of China's foreign trade.
As a major foreign trade fair held in China, the event attracted 46,450 purchasers from 126 countries and regions, a 2.9-percent on-year increase in the gross number of overseas purchasers.
By regions, European and North American buyers grew 5.5 percent from the figure in previous year and purchasers from Southeast Asia surged as high as 24.1 percent.
Both overseas and domestic purchasers were fascinated by the eye-catching exhibits featuring application of new technologies, green development, and emerging consumption trends this year.
A host of edge-cutting products that integrated AI, the Internet of Things and 3D printing such as the AI magic mirror, hydrogen-oxygen machines, plant protection drones, and 3D printed slippers were displayed.
With broad application of new materials including X-TEX fabric, new plant-dyed cloth, and RPET recycled material, exhibits on the 34th ECF embodied better environment friendliness and functions.
When new technologies like temperature-controlled layered casting technology, activated carbon and sub-nanometer fiber blending technology, and EVA integrated molding technology debuted, the 34th ECF boasted greater sci-tech content.
Showcasing a larger proportion of green technology-featuring exhibits, the 34th ECF has well illustrated the transition paths of China's foreign trade as an upgrading from traditional manufacturing to green manufacturing is underway.
Apart from these, the event also embraced new consumption trends by housing exhibits relative to pet economy, emotional economy, sport economy, and sleep economy to foster related trade.
Setting four sub-exhibitions, the total exhibition areas covered 115,000 square meters and contained 5,291 booths. It also had two special exhibition zones to bolster cross-border e-commerce and sales of overseas exhibitors.
While offering as usual special areas for buyer-supplier matching, the ECF of this year invited 14 procurement groups consisting of 1,154 quality purchasers and hosted seven match-making activities to promote high-quality deal-making.
(Contributed by Deng Kan, edited by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
