Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, Jiangsu province’s private economy has maintained strong vitality and development momentum thanks to its continued efforts in boosting independent innovation, transformation and foreign trade in the new era.In 2020, the province’s private economy reached an added value of 5.8 trillion yuan ($893.68 billion), accounting for 56.8 percent of its GDP. Jiangsu’s total value of imports and exports has surged from $5.63 million in 1980 to a high of more than $600 billion. Over the past decades, Jiangsu has transformed its economic structure from labor-intensive industries to high-tech and service sectors and strived to build an export-oriented economy by helping private foreign trade companies go global. The Canton Fair has played a vital role in the process.After 64 years of development, the Canton Fair has grown into a big stage, incubator and pathfinder for private enterprises. More private enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, regard the Canton Fair as a starting point for expanding their international markets. At the 126th Canton Fair, private enterprises traded $22.16 billion, accounting for 75.67 percent of the total turnover.Jiangsu and the Canton Fair have worked together to cultivate and grow private enterprises. The Canton Fair is a stage for private enterprises in Jiangsu to show off their image, contact foreign customers and understand the international market.One example is the Jiangsu-based Sanxiao Group, a large-scale private enterprise that integrates daily accessories, household pesticides and personal hygienic disposables. It has set its sights on the vast overseas market and aimed at the best window for Chinese products to reach the world through the Canton Fair. In the process of participating in several sessions of the Canton Fair for years, Sanxiao still attracts buyers with its cost-effective products. Wang Min, executive general manager of Sanxiao, said when the Canton Fair was about to end, buyers in front of Sanxiao’s booth were still waiting in a long queue for signing.Another is the CCGrass, the world’s leading artificial grass manufacturer in Jiangsu. CCGrass products have served international clients including professional sports clubs, government bodies, schools, universities and countless households across the globe. CCGrass’ artificial grass products have been installed in more than 120 countries worldwide with a total volume of more than 300 million square meters. Since first participating in the Canton Fair in 2008, CCGrass has presented new products subsequent Canton Fairs, won orders, and increased its sales. The annual export value has jumped from $16.8 million to over $200 million, with an average annual growth rate of more than 20 percent.
