140th Canton Fair opens with spotlight on advanced manufacturing

The China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, kicked off on Thursday in Guangzhou, with more than 30,000 exhibiting companies and about 340,000 overseas buyers expected to attend.

Running until November 4, the 140th edition of the event is organized into three phases. The first phase focuses on "advanced manufacturing," featuring over 12,000 participating enterprises and more than 25,000 booths, including 17 specialized zones for emerging, future-oriented industries such as robots and drones.

Aligning with new trends in foreign trade, more than one-third of the 32,000 participating enterprises are classified as "specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative" (SRDI) firms—a designation for high-quality, niche enterprises. The fair will host over 700 product launch events, with the number of new products being unveiled representing a 15% increase over the previous session.

To mark the fair's 70th anniversary, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the exhibition on Wednesday, highlighting its significant role in promoting trade exchanges between China and other countries. He noted that it serves as an effective platform for China to expand high-level opening-up and promote the building of an open world economy.

Premier Li Qiang gave a keynote speech at the opening ceremony on the same day, during which he described the country as both a "super seller" and a "super buyer," bringing benefits to its trading partners. He also pledged that China will continue to advance high-quality development, expand high-standard opening-up, and take more practical actions to inject more momentum into the world economy.

Premier Li also held a symposium with participating enterprises and overseas buyers, encouraging companies from around the world to increase their investment in China and strengthen cooperation across industrial and supply chains.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓