The 131st Online Canton Fair Enables Merchants to Buy and Sell Commodities across the World at Home

By Yi Da

The online 10-day 131st Canton Fair was ended on April 24th after having been online for ten days. The online platform of this years Canton Fair ran smoothly and a total of 536，000 overseas buyers from 228 countries and regions registered to attend the Fair， which reached a record high was up 48% when compared to the 129th session and up 41.8% compared with the 130th session， said Xu Bing， spokesman of the Canton Fair and deputy director of the China Foreign Trade Center.

Innovate exhibition mode to stabilize foreign trade

To actively respond to the pandemics impact and stabilize the global industrial and supply chains， the Canton Fair has adapted to the trend of the digital economy， innovated the mode of hosting exhibition， and pioneered the online and offline integration of large international trade fairs， which has played an important role in the stabilizing of foreign trade.

Xu Bing said that the Canton Fair has been fully optimized； upgrading the official website platform， setting up sections such as exhibitors exhibits， supply & purchasing matchmaking， new product release， exhibitors connection and virtual exhibition hall， so that merchants can“buy and sell commodities across the world” at home. Under the current complex and grim economic and trade situation， the Canton Fair has made positive contributions to promoting high-quality trade development， maintaining the stability of industrial and supply chains， and promoting world economic recovery.

At the Canton Fair， 25，500 exhibitors once again took the “Cloud express” to display their enterprises， products and brands in a multi-angle and three-dimensional way in the form of text， video， 3D and VR. Exhibitors at home and abroad have uploaded a total of 3，052，100 pieces of exhibits， including 951，500 pieces of new products， 176，500 pieces and 52，800 pieces more than last year respectively， both hitting a record high.

Xu Bing introduced that cumulative visits of the cloud exhibition halls from the Canton Fair exhibitors reached 6，223，100 times， including 6，129，800 times for the export exhibition and 93，300 times for the import exhibition. Exhibitors have held a total of 85，300 online shows. 2，398 companies created and uploaded virtual booths， 236 more than last year， with a total of 31，200 visits.

Exhibitors have made full efforts to prepare for the online Canton Fair， from the development of new products and selection upload， to show planning and marketing. Dongguan Yuntong Environmental Protection Technology Co.， Ltd. exhibited several mechanical equipment at the Canton Fair， including automatic waste rubber and plastic cracking oil refining equipment， rubber mixing equipment， engineering tire recycling equipment and plastic runway equipment group. The enterprise has not only launched many new products， but also held more than 40 online shows.

“The volume of inquiries has increased significantly this year and we have received customers inquiries from more than 20 countries and regions around the world，” said Jiang Jinfu， the companys business manager. He said that the Canton Fair has maintained positive participation results， and has received customersenquiries from regions including Africa， Europe， South America and South Asia. The Canton Fair is the best platform for Chinese enterprises to “go global” by breaking the time and space restrictions and allowing Chinese enterprises to go abroad and introduce high-quality products to the world.

To show the world the latest achievements made in China

As a barometer and weathervane of Chinas foreign trade， the new technologies， designs and products unveiled at the Canton Fair often guide the new trends of future international market demand.

Around the five themes of advanced technology， intelligent manufacturing， better life， low-carbon environmental protection and trade services， 147 high-quality enterprises from 24 trading groups held 150 new product debut and exhibition events at this years Fair. A large number of smart， green and low-carbon products with proprietary intellectual property rights are emerging at a faster pace. New technologies， processes and models are emerging one after another， demonstrating to the world the latest achievements made in China and the strong resilience and innovation vitality of Chinas foreign trade.

At the Canton fair， Haier Smart Home brought several smart scenes of home space， such as a smart kitchen， a smart living room， a smart bathroom， a smart bedroom and a smart balcony. Together with its global brands Haier， Fisher&Paykel， GE Appliances， AQUA and Candy， Haier Smart Home exhibited family scene solutions. It is no longer a simple display of home appliances， but a smart family scene. Through the online Canton Fair， the audience can see the global layout of Haier Smart Home.

The Canton Fair also added enterprise and product features to help buyers quickly and accurately target enterprises and products for the first time. In addition， 50 “Trade Bridge”global sourcing and procurement activities were held to promote domestic key industrial clusters and brand enterprises， and connect with large multinational enterprises and big buyers such as Auchan of France， Wal-Mart of the United States and Casco of Finland， with a total of nearly 4，000 overseas buyers participating.

Beijing Guanqun Information Technology Co.， Ltd. has participated in the Canton Fair for many consecutive years， and it is the third batch of specialized new “little giant” enterprises announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. “The Canton Fair has become the worlds largest online trading platform due to the pandemic，” said Gao Wanyu， General Manager of the companys planning and development department. The companys products and services are mainly for the Belt and Road market and developing countries. Gao Wanyu believes that the Canton Fair has brought good image and product promotion opportunities for exhibitors， enabling technology enterprises to seize global business opportunities more conveniently and efficiently. With its international influence， brand effect and professional services， the Canton Fair helps enterprises to promote their own brands， make friends with customers at home and abroad and expand the global market.

With the RCEP coming into force， enterprises gained more overseas business opportunities

Since the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative， the Canton Fair has become a “thermometer” to test the heat of emerging markets and an important platform for trade cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road. Since the opening of the Canton Fair， Huzhou Guoneng New Materials Co.， Ltd. has received more than ten inquiries from purchasers from the Belt and Road countries， and the company is confident in taking orders. The person in charge of the company said that its own brands have been registered in more than 160 countries in the world， with more than 60 domestic and foreign patents， and the trade volume with more than 30 countries along the Belt and Road has accounted for 42.3% of the total exports of the company.

In 2021， the export volume of Shaoxing Xinda Electronics Co.， Ltd. to countries along the Belt and Road reached RMB 110 million， up 48% year on year. Within five days of launch， we have received more than 20 inquiries from the Belt and Road merchants. We have signed a trial order of USD 40，000 with a new customer from the United Arab Emirates.

In view of the shortage of the power supply in such countries as Nigeria and Senegal， Zhejiang Lvli Machinery Co.， Ltd. takes the initiative to meet market demand， and updates and iteratively launches the solar lithium ion energy storage power supply to meet the electricity demand of customers.

While exploring the Belt and Road market， enterprises also enjoy the benefits and convenience of tariff reduction and certificate of origin after the RCEP takes effect， expanding overseas markets and obtaining more business opportunities.

The Canton Fair has strengthened the investment promotion for overseas buyers and further expanded the global marketing network. Among the registered purchasers， the top 10 nations are India， Indonesia， the Philippines， Pakistan， Bangladesh， Nigeria， Australia， South Africa， Japan and Singapore. In 2021， purchasers from Chinas top 10 trading partner countries and regions accounted for 38.67% of trade. There were 298，100 purchasers from countries along the Belt and Road， accounting for 55.6% of the total. There were 150，800 purchasers from RCEP countries， accounting for 28.12% of the total.

Xu Huanbo， Head of Guangzhou Lizhuang Cosmetics Co.， Ltd.， said that after the RCEP took effect， the service trade and investment areas of cosmetics R&D and production in the ASEAN countries were immediately opened up. In the first two months of this year， the company has exported more than RMB 1.8 million of cosmetics such as shampoo and hair conditioner to the RCEP countries and regions， up 50% year-on-year.

According to Huo Shan， Office Director of Nanhai Textiles Import and Export Co.， Ltd.， “the Customs took the initiative to contact and guide us to apply for the RCEP certificate of origin after learning that our goods were to be exported to Malaysia. With the certificate， the tariff rate has been reduced from 20% to 0%， and our exports are expected to enjoy RMB 2.2 million of tariff concessions this year.”

“More products containing ingredients imported from RCEP member countries can obtain the RCEP origin qualification， and the companys exports to South Korea are expected to increase by 20% year-onyear in 2022，” said Ms. Li， the origin declaration officer of Guangzhou Baoxi Cosmetics Co.， LTD.

Data from Guangzhou Customs shows that in the first quarter after the RCEP came into effect， Guangzhou Customs issued 2，215 RCEP preferential certificates of origin， worth RMB 770 million. The enterprises declared RMB 910 million of imported RCEP goods to Guangzhou Customs. The approved exporters identified by Guangzhou Customs issued 117 independent declarations of origin for exporting to the RCEP countries， with the value of goods exceeding RMB 48.322 million.

At the Canton Fair， 117 enterprises from the RCEP member countries participated in the import exhibition， accounting for 29.1% of the total number of participating enterprises. While helping enterprises from the RCEP member countries explore the Chinese market， the Canton Fair has also taken measures to guide and encourage domestic enterprises to seize the opportunity of the RCEP agreement coming into force and make full efforts to explore the international market.

Green and low-carbon development gets in on the trend

This years Report on the Work of the Government calls for orderly progress in carbon peak and carbon neutrality， which demonstrates Chinas strategic commitment to green and low-carbon development and its responsibility as a big nation to actively respond to climate change and build a community with a shared future for mankind.

More than 480，000 green and low-carbon products were showcased at the 131st Canton Fair， bringing a strong green trend. In this years Canton Fair， Zhejiang trading group has 70 booths for new energy， hitting a record high. Zhejiang Jiake New Energy Environmental Protection Technology Co.， Ltd. is a national high-tech enterprise that produces photovoltaic cell modules. Relying on the innovative technology of No. 36 Institute under CETC， the company has introduced photovoltaic panels with self-cleaning function， which solves the problem of difficult maintenance of photovoltaic panels and may increase the power generation by 3%-5% compared with traditional photovoltaic modules. The company has developed a photovoltaic microgrid power generation system with energy storage function for the customer， which can operate normally in the case of off-grid （and） combined with the real-time energy demand of the customer. In the first online exhibition of the Canton Fair， the number of “likes” hit a record high of over 8，000， and the number of both the business cards and purchase intentions received increased compared with previous sessions. Tianjin trading group enterprises in the Canton Fair launched a number of new products， with more environmental-friendly materials， low energy consumption and energy saving technology and simple and practical packaging. Gunuo （Tianjin） Industrial Co.， Ltd. has developed up to 80 kinds of green new environmental protection products. Aiming at the target markets of European Union and the United States， the company has carried out production process transformation and products it has developed and produced like foaming agent， spray paint and acrylic adhesive have been recognized by overseas buyers.

Lexy Electric Co.， Ltd. carries the upgraded version of the KJ608S air purifier to the exhibition， which is more green and intelligent. The product uses advanced technology to effectively block bacteria， viruses and dust， and the virus removal rate is up to 99.99%. At present， the company has carried out strategic cooperation with several fortune 500 enterprises， and its products are exported to more than 100 countries and regions around the world.

With the nation-wide double carbon target， the green focus of Guangdong trading group is highly interesting. The main raw material for daily necessities produced by Foshan Meijia Green Environmental Protection Materials Co.， Ltd. are bamboo pulp. Unlike trees， bamboo will not cause soil erosion when felled， it is also renewable and has a fast growth cycle. It can replace trees as production materials and play a role in protecting the environment and resources. At this years Canton Fair， the new environmental protection products including the degradable PLA cup and environmental protection meal box launched by the company are favored by many overseas buyers and there have been several starts to negotiations.

Exhibitors from the Shanghai trading group are also actively practicing the concept of dual carbon. Shanghai Shako Textile Co.， Ltd. has launched a new INDIDYE plant dyeing project， using 100% natural dyes. The use of revolutionary ultrasonic plant dyeing technology with such characteristics as no formaldehyde， zero sewage discharge and natural degradation， may greatly reduce the impact of textile dyeing on the environment and society.

In addition to organizing green and low-carbon products to participate in the fair and helping Chinas green industry explore domestic and foreign markets， the Canton Fair also actively promotes the green development of the whole chain of the fair. The Canton Fair has formulated an indicator system for green development of the exhibition， focusing on promoting the application of green materials and optimization and upgrading of booths， improving the overall display level of the Fair， advocating and leading green exhibition organization & participation， green conference， green transportation and green catering， and integrating the new concept of green development into the whole industry chain of the exhibition.

In addition， the Canton Fair also took the lead across the country to establish three national standards—the green booth evaluation guide， green operation guide of exhibition， basic requirements of exhibition venue security management， which effectively fills the blanks in the field of the Chinese exhibition industry in terms of national standard and which will vigorously promote Chinas exhibition industry in the direction of green， low carbon and sustainable development and promote our country from a nation that is big on exhibitions， to an exhibition power.