BRI countries embrace 134th Canton Fair opportunities

GUANGZHOU — The 134th session of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is appealing to a surge of overseas buyers by providing more exhibition areas for countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Guangdong Xinbao Electrical Appliances Holdings Co Ltd is targeting more opportunities from BRI cooperation this year than in previous sessions, for which it has added a specific exhibition area.

"Overseas buyers from BRI countries have significantly increased," said Zhang Yifei, overseas project director of the company. Zhang expected over 500 overseas buyers would come to negotiate, with approximately half coming from BRI countries.

Xinbao is displaying nearly 600 new products, including robotic vacuum cleaners and intelligent trash bins, making its exhibit this year the largest in the company's more than 30 years of participating in the fair, Zhang said.

The latest session of the Canton Fair, which opened on Oct 15 and will run until Saturday, has set a new record. The total exhibition area has expanded to 1.55 million square meters, an increase of 50,000 sq m compared to the previous session. There is a total of 74,000 booths, with 28,533 exhibiting companies.

The numbers show that buyers from BRI countries have actively participated in the fair, with the proportion of relevant attendees increasing from 50.4 percent to 58.1 percent over the past decade. As of Oct 18, a total of 98,000 overseas buyers had joined the event, with significant growth from BRI countries.

In addition to reaching deals with many companies from BRI countries at the fair, Xinbao is actively expanding its overseas production bases. The company's factory in Indonesia has already begun production, and it is expected to achieve sales of over 1 billion yuan ($136.7 million) by the end of the year.

The Canton Fair has become an important platform for companies to explore Belt and Road markets.

As one of the first Chinese manufacturers to "go global", Chinese home appliances manufacturer Galanz Group has supplied products and services to nearly 200 countries and regions, with about one-third of its export sales coming from BRI countries.

Russia is one of the most popular markets for Galanz and was among its earliest. By leveraging a full industrial chain and local-team operations, Galanz has increased its microwave oven, dishwasher, refrigerator and other home appliance market shares in the Russian market.

As early as 2004, Orbus & Teksan, a company specializing in portable energy storage systems in Turkiye, began participating in the Canton Fair and has now grown to become the largest of its kind in Turkiye.

"Through the Canton Fair, we have found many long-term cooperative suppliers. A significant part of the company's achievements today should be attributed to the Canton Fair," said Sukru Ozdamar, the company's CEO.

With the platforms brought by the Canton Fair, many countries participating in the BRI have purchased high-quality, cost-effective products from China and opened sales channels for their specialty products in the country, achieving win-win results.

Of this year's exhibitors, 650 are from 43 countries and regions other than China, with BRI countries accounting for 60 percent. Turkiye has organized 125 companies to participate, covering industries such as consumer electronics, hardware tools, building materials, furniture, household items and food.

Altinboga Gas Equipments, a valve manufacturing company from Turkiye, is a frequent exhibitor at the fair. This year, it has brought more than 85 categories of products to exhibit.

"The Canton Fair is the largest exhibition event for us, where we can negotiate with buyers from all over the world," said Hakan Yaylali, foreign trade manager, noting that 10 years ago, the company met a buyer from Chile at the fair and signed its largest order of the year.

For Solex International (Thailand) Co Ltd, its small booth of less than 10 sq m does not detract from its attractiveness at the fair.

The client contact book of Thanyaluk Pitisettakarn, manager of the company's foreign trade department, was filled with business cards from nearly 200 overseas buyers in just three days, many of whom expressed their willingness to cooperate further.

The Canton Fair provides a platform to showcase foreign companies and products to global buyers, and China makes great contributions by sharing this important market opportunity with the world, she said.

Xinhua