To The Moon

The 140th Canton Fair is scheduled to be held in Guangzhou from October 15 to November 4, across three phases. Given the sustained positive momentum of China's foreign trade this year, the Canton Fair, often regarded as a barometer of the nation's trade health, is set to showcase distinct trends of innovation, intelligence, and enhanced specialization, as noted by Zhang Li, Assistant Minister of Commerce, at a State Council Information Office press conference on September 18.

This edition of the fair marks the 70th anniversary of its inception. Over the past seven decades, the Canton Fair has evolved from a modest 9,600 square meters with 1,200 buyers at its first session to a sprawling 1.55 million square meters welcoming 310,000 buyers. Having been held continuously for 140 sessions, it stands as China's premier international trade event, unmatched in scale, history, product variety, attendee numbers, and transaction volume.

"In recent years, the ongoing transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing sector have led to an optimized foreign trade structure and a steady increase in the technological sophistication of import and export products," Zhang Li explained. Reflecting the new trends in foreign trade, this year's fair will feature more than 11,000 specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative enterprises, as well as 'little giant' firms among its 32,000 exhibitors. Furthermore, 64% of participating companies are integrating new technologies like the Industrial Internet and artificial intelligence into their operations, with new and green products accounting for a record 23.2% and 26% of exhibits, respectively.

This year has witnessed rapid growth in AI-related product imports and exports. AI is playing a crucial role in helping foreign trade companies optimize supply chain management, develop new offerings, boost production efficiency, and significantly enhance their international operational capabilities.

"This Canton Fair is elevating its digital and intelligent capabilities by deeply embedding AI and big data throughout the event. For the first time, we are introducing 22 smart application scenarios and 16 AI-driven features, pioneering hall-level navigation and AR information displays for booths within the domestic exhibition industry to comprehensively enhance the exhibitor and visitor experience," Zhang Li added.

Foreign trade enterprises are currently undergoing a rapid shift from merely securing orders and selling products to building comprehensive systems and enhancing services. This is evident in the new trend of integrated goods and services and the convergence of trade and investment. "To align with this evolution, the fair will, for the first time, cover all 10 categories of productive services within its trade services section, offering one-stop solutions. Already, 36.5% of exhibitors have adopted a 'product plus service' business model transformation," Zhang Li noted.

The fair is also enhancing its services for buyers through several first-time initiatives, including year-round buyer pre-registration, a buyer tagging system, AI-driven invitation push, a buyer alliance, and a membership points program. The Canton Fair's global network is expanding, with 12 new global partners added. To date, over 210,000 overseas buyers have completed their pre-registration for the event.