>>>Related Special:  The 101st Canton Fair

A total of 839 companies from Shenzhen have booths at the 101st session of the Chinese Import and Export Commodities Fair (Canton Fair), which opened in Guangzhou on Sunday.

Of the companies, 387 participated the first phase of the fair from April 15 to 20, which is for industrial and consumer goods of nine categories including machinery, equipment, small vehicles, spare parts, electronics and IT products, household appliances and building materials, according to a man surnamed Tang, a department chief of the Shenzhen Municipal Trade and Industry Development Bureau, yesterday.

The second phase will be from April 25 to 30, when 561 enterprises from Shenzhen will show garments, textiles, health products and gifts.

The fair has an imported goods section for the first time, featuring products of 314 foreign companies from 36 countries and regions.

It comes one month after Premier Wen Jiabao pledged in his government work report that China will continue adjusting its foreign trade structure and increasing imports.

The bureau has invited at least 200 local corporate buyers to the import commodities section, which runs until April 20.

Last year, more than 190,000 buyers from around the world signed deals worth US$34 billion.

The fair is a biannual event that has been held in the spring and autumn since 1957.

Last autumn's session of the fair attracted 192,691 buyers from 212 countries and regions, including 106,716 from around Asia, followed by Europe, America and Africa.

Editor: Yan