Fair a priority for high-level opening-up, foreign trade

The ongoing 129th Canton Fair has attracted greater attention from the world, not only because of its own status to serve foreign trade, but also the special significance rendered by this special year, officials said. 

This year marks the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. It is also the start of the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), and the beginning of a new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country. 

The Government Work Report this year included the fair into one of the priorities in implementing high-level opening-up and promoting higher-quality foreign trade and investment. 

The Ministry of Commerce has also attached great importance to the fair, requiring it to give full play to its role as a key exhibition platform, boost the coordinated development of import and export, and promote China’s new dual-circulation development paradigm. 

The 129th Canton Fair is being held online from April 15-24. This is the third time for the fair to be hosted online because of the impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Based on the current epidemic situation, the online session can effectively avoid the risk of imported cases, consolidate hard-won achievements of disease prevention and control, and maintain good development momentum in China’s economic growth, said Chu Shijia, deputy director and secretary-general of the fair. 

Chu is also the Party secretary and chief of China Foreign Trade Center, an organizer of the event. He made the remarks during an interview with major national media outlets including People’s Daily, Xinhua, CCTV and CGTN. 

As the world’s second-largest economy, Chu said China is a manufacturing power and also a big country of trading and consumption. 

“The online fair can make use of information technologies to break time and space limitation, and help foreign trade enterprises develop their brands, expand markets and take orders during this special period,” Chu, also director of China Foreign Trade Center, said. 

Both demand and supply of global trade have been falling heavily since the outbreak of the pandemic, so hosting the fair online can “safeguard friendly exchanges between Chinese companies and their foreign partners, and maintain the stability of the global industrial and supply chains,” Chu noted. 

Moreover, it can offer more trade cooperation opportunities for China with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, he added. 

Through the online session, “China can give full play to its advantages in manufacturing and consumption sectors, benefit international trade and economic development with its latest achievements, and provide a strong driving force for the recovery of the world economy,” Chu said.