A Sneak Peek at the Highlights of the 138th Canton Fair

The 138th China Import and Export Fair will be held in three phases in Guangzhou from October 15 to November 4. A dedicated press conference was held by the Ministry of Commerce on October 10 to introduce the event.

Cultivating New Growth Points in Foreign Trade

Wang Zhihua, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Commerce, stated that this session of the Canton Fair features an exhibition area of 1.55 million square meters. With a total of 74,600 booths and over 32,000 participating enterprises, both figures have reached record highs. Approximately 3,600 enterprises are making their debut at the fair. This session introduces new highlights and showcases progress in fostering foreign trade development towards "innovation," "intelligence," and "green" practices.

In terms of participating enterprises, the number of high-quality companies recognized as high-tech, specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce new and unique products, or single-category champions has exceeded 10,000 for the first time, setting a new record and accounting for 34% of all exhibitors in the export section. Over 353,000 smart products will be displayed on-site.

Regarding exhibition themes, this session inaugurates a Smart Healthcare zone, attracting 47 companies featuring products like surgical robots, intelligent monitoring, and wearable devices. The Service Robot zone continues, hosting 46 leading industry enterprises showcasing humanoid robots, robotic dogs, and more, cultivating new highlights for foreign trade development.

"Based on pre-fair surveys, it is estimated that over 1 million new products (developed within nearly the past year), nearly 1.1 million products with independent intellectual property rights, and close to 800,000 products making their debut at the Canton Fair will be showcased. It can be said that the Canton Fair has become a crucial platform for foreign trade enterprises to demonstrate their R&D capabilities and launch new industry products," said Wang Zhihua.

Focusing Efforts on Key Markets

Wang Zhihua noted that the Canton Fair's global partnership network has now expanded to 227 partners, covering 110 countries and regions. Concurrently, efforts are actively made to expand resources from industry associations, enhance specialized investment promotion, extend targeted invitations to key delegations and leading industry enterprises, and provide customized services for approximately 150 important delegations. Based on pre-registrations, over 400 leading purchasing enterprises are expected to attend this session.

Zhu Yong, Director of the China Foreign Trade Centre, said that as of the 9th, 144 business associations including the German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses, the China-US Chamber of Commerce, and the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce in Turkey will lead delegations to attend, representing a 12.5% increase compared to the previous session. Pre-registrations have been received from 207,000 buyers from 217 sourcing markets, marking a 14.1% increase. Notably, buyers from the EU, the US, and Belt and Road partner countries have shown significant growth.

Another key feature is the inaugural event focusing on promoting high-quality export products in the domestic market. Wang Zhihua introduced that an approximately 3,000-square-meter matching zone has been set up to actively support the integration of domestic and foreign trade. Over 600 new product launch events and 13 themed forums will be held to help enterprises build their brands and grasp industry development trends. Furthermore, 240 trade service providers have been introduced to offer full-chain services including finance, insurance, logistics, warehousing, quality inspection technology, and design, better supporting companies in expanding markets and securing orders.

Support and benefits for enterprises are greater. This session continues to offer a 50% reduction in booth fees for exhibitors in the export section and maintains full fee waivers for zones like Rural Revitalization. Simultaneously, all exhibitors will receive complimentary specialized services such as online promotion and platform traffic support. Statistics show that over 5,000 enterprises are benefiting from these measures for the first time.

Assisting Exhibitors and Buyers in Market Expansion and Deal Closure

With 55 exhibition sections, nearly 75,000 booths, and 4.6 million exhibits, how can one navigate efficiently?

Zhu Yong stated that this session will address the difficulty of locating booths through real-time navigation. It will pioneer the use of Bluetooth + BeiDou + 5G technology, trialing booth-level navigation in 10 exhibition halls. Additionally, through AI-powered tour guides, exhibition hall signage, and intelligent wayfinding, the aim is to preliminarily achieve one-click navigation.

Furthermore, aiming to enhance the procurement experience, new on-site tax refund services for departure will be introduced. The number of translators and supported languages will be increased, and a mobile "ASK ME" foreign language consultation service will debut, enabling visitors to explore the fair seamlessly with just a "code." Nine "Trade Bridge" supplier-purchaser matching events will also be organized, ensuring global buyers come with expectations and leave with orders.

"We will continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of trade promotion activities to assist exhibitors and buyers in expanding markets and facilitating transactions," Zhu Yong explained. The new product launch events at this session have expanded in scope, with over 600 sessions scheduled, a 37% increase. Through dedicated launches, connected launches, and exploration-based launches, nearly 400 small and medium-sized enterprises will be provided with debut platforms to convert attention into orders. Among the debut products, 63% incorporate innovative technologies, 48% feature functional upgrades, 47% reflect green and low-carbon attributes, and 31% utilize innovative materials, comprehensively showcasing the innovative vitality of China's foreign trade.