Cloud expo offers firms new opportunities

Worlds largest trade event still bringing sky-high results when it moves online in face of COVID-19 pandemic

The 10-day 129th China Import and Export Fair, also known as Canton Fair, kicked off on April 15 online, offering a platform for some 26,000 exhibitors to explore both overseas and domestic business opportunities.

To support exhibitors to expand markets, the ongoing Canton Fair has strengthened its advantages in serving foreign trade while deepening its cooperation with trade associations and purchasing groups, aiming to play a crucial role in China’s new dual-circulation development pattern, the event’s organizers said.

Since participating in Canton Fair for the first time in 1996, Linkfair, a kitchen ware and intelligent appliance supplier based in Guangdong province, has never missed one since.

“Canton Fair is the most important exhibition of the year for us, and we usually prepare for it one or two months in advance,” said Li Linghan, a senior executive at Linkfair.

With the event taking place on the cloud, the digital transformation of enterprises has also accelerated, Li said. “This time, we opened five virtual showrooms and seven online livestreaming rooms, with more than 400 exhibits on display.”

Chu Shijia, vice-president and secretary-general of Canton Fair, said the 129th fair has 50 exhibition halls and nearly 60,000 booths, covering 16 categories of goods such as home appliances, machinery, building materials and textiles.

Exhibitors uploaded information on more than 2.7 million products for the Canton Fair platform, 230,000 more than that of the last session. Among them, around 820,000 are new products, an increase of 90,000 over the last session, Chu added.

With the current uncertainties in international trade, many export-oriented enterprises are beginning to focus on domestic demand. They are developing the domestic market by establishing branding and marketing teams and innovating products and applications.

Shifting from exports to domestic sales, organizers of the Canton Fair are aware that how to identify domestic buyers and secure orders is a pressing challenge that enterprises have to solve.

To address the challenge, the China Foreign Trade Centre and the Guangdong Department of Commerce held an event on marketing amid dual-circulation development on April 16, aiming to help enterprises to overcome the difficulties.

The event gathered some 200 exhibitors from the sectors of daily consumption and more than 1,000 buyers from retail, supermarkets and cross-border e-commerce sectors.

Among the exhibitors is Amos Food, a global candy and snack supplier based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

It reached a strategic cooperation agreement worth 10 million yuan ($1.53 million) with Ole’, a domestic high-end supermarket chain, at a similar event at the last Canton Fair.

“We have come into contact with two well-known enterprises with intentions for cooperation this time, and specific procedures are under negotiation,” said Chen Jing, an executive with Amos Food.

Yayan is a Fujian province-based company engaged in the research and development, production and sales of generators, smart power stations and fuel cells, which has expanded its domestic market through the recent Canton Fair sessions.

Over the years, 95 percent of its sales volume has come from exports. Since last year, facing weak foreign trade and growth in domestic demand, the company gradually shifted its sales focus to the domestic market.

“Canton Fair has blazed a new trail for us,” said Zhou Wenhao, an executive with the company. “Our domestic sales to date this year increased 136 percent from the same period last year, injecting a strong momentum into the development of the company.

“With Canton Fair as the platform and starting point, our business has opened a new chapter.”

Shen Danrui, a sales manager with a pen manufacturer based in Zhejiang province, said: “Compared with the first two days of the last Canton Fair, we have got 100 more inquiries this time.

“Every session of Canton Fair can bring us new surprises.”

The company received more than 1,000 orders at the Canton Fair sessions last year, which helped the company achieve a year-on-year increase of 144.22 percent in its export delivery value in 2020.

Home appliance supplier Galanz has strengthened its communication with buyers from Europe and the Americas via the online Canton Fair.

“Since the opening of this session, Galanz has held 18 livestreaming promotion events,” said Kang Jian, an executive with the company. “Despite the time difference with customers overseas, the interaction between the two sides is very smooth.

“As the largest import and export trade event in China, Canton Fair directly connects domestic and international markets ... It plays a unique role in building a new development pattern.”

Statistics show that China’s imports and exports of goods totaled 8.47 trillion yuan in the first quarter this year, up 29.2 percent year-on-year. That is an increase of 25.3 percent and 20.5 percent, respectively, compared with the same period in 2018 and 2019.

Offering business opportunities to companies from some remote areas in the country, Canton Fair is also playing its role in helping with China’s rural revitalization.

Founded in 2016, Qiqi Technology is a supplier of artificial flowers, bags and suitcases. The company is based in Chengbu Miao autonomous county in Hunan province.

With the help of Canton Fair, the company has received a sizable number of orders, with its products sold to countries and regions in Southeast Asia, South America and Europe.

Relying on business growth, the company has created 1,386 jobs for local people, and helped them with increased incomes.

“The 129th Canton Fair marks our company’s eighth time of participation. It is free of charge,” said Dai Fangcai, general manager of Qiqi Technology.

Looking ahead, the company is committed to building a platform for entrepreneurship and e-commerce industries with local characteristics, to help more local residents start businesses and find jobs to increase their incomes, Dai added.

Canton Fair Call Centre

Canton Fair Hong Kong Representative Office