GUANGZHOU, China, March 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The 123rd China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) has confirmed that 6 exhibitor groups from countries participating in China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), including Ukraine, Egypt, Turkey, India, Thailand and Nepal will showcase their latest products in fields such as construction, machinery, household appliances, light industry, fabrics and home textiles, as well as food and beverage.
As more countries join China's BRI project, an increasing number of companies from those regions are joining Canton Fair. The 122nd Canton Fair hosted 88,574 participants from BRI countries, which was 45.08 percent of the total number of people who participated, an 8.55 percent year-on-year increase.
"Serving as a window on China's policy of opening to the outside world, the Canton Fair is helping to build bridges between China and BRI countries via its integrated trading platform, which facilitates the transformation and upgrading of foreign trade," said Maggie Pu, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of Canton Fair. "More exhibitors are consolidating their export strategies, actively exploring markets along the BRI, developing products that can target those markets and establishing research and development centers, factories and sales channels on the ground."
Canton Fair Promotes Trade among BRI Countries
Xu Bing, spokesperson for Canton Fair and Deputy Director General of the China Foreign Trade Centre, pointed out that the Canton Fair is not only an access point for companies from BRI countries to enter the Chinese market, but it also serves as an ideal international trade platform for them to connect with buyers from 210 countries and regions worldwide.
"Participating in Canton Fair can help us promote our burgeoning trading sector. The increased number of exhibitors that the Fair allows our companies to access can bring greater export efficiencies to our market while creating more jobs as trade develops," said U Yan Naing Tun, Director-general of the Trading Department of the Ministry of Commerce in Myanmar.
Special Events for BRI Exhibitors
As of now, the Canton Fair has signed cooperative agreements with 46 business and commerce organizations from 32 BRI countries, including Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, India China Trade Centre, Egyptian Businessmen's Association.
During the 122nd Canton Fair, the China-UAE Purchasing Matchmaking area featured 53 companies from the UAE and over 80 from China, as well as a trade matchmaking meeting between Fujian Province and exporters from Malaysia and India. This year, exhibitors from BRI countries will also have access to multiple special trade matching events.
About Canton Fair
The China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is held biannually in Guangzhou every spring and fall. Established in 1957, the fair is now a comprehensive exhibition with the longest history, highest level, largest scale and largest number of products as well as the broadest distribution of buyer origins and the highest business turnover in China.
