This fall, the 100th Canton Fair attracted over 190,000 purchasers from all over the   world and the contracted volume amounted to a record high 34.06 billion USD. From the next session, this 50-year-old   Chinese Export Commodities Fair will change its name to the Chinese Import and Export Commodities Fair.

The 100th Canton Fair, also known as the Chinese Export Commodities Fair, marked its golden jubilee in October on an unprecedented scale and renewed efforts to facilitate the country's integration into the world economy.

During the fair's 12 days, over 190,000 businessmen from all over the world spent over 34 billion USD for Made-in-China goods.

Beginning next spring, the fair will change its name to "The Chinese Import and Export Commodities Fair". Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pointed out in his speech on this session's opening ceremony on October 15, that the move aims to expand China's import and pushes for the balanced development of China's foreign trade.

50-YEAR-OLD FAIR MIRRORS CHINA'S EXPORT

The biannual fair has been held in the spring and autumn in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, every year since 1957. It is the largest of its kind in China and the second largest in the world and has contributed enormously to the development of the Chinese economy. Contracts from this fair once account for a quarter of the country's annual general export trade.

It is no exaggeration that the Canton Fair reflects China's social and economic progress.

From the beginning sessions to the most recent fair, the scale of the fair, the number of commodities and the constituency of participants has increased dramatically.

The fair's first session attracted 1,223 traders from 19 countries and regions with a transaction volume of 18 million USD. This was a remarkable success under the circumstances of that time when the Chinese economy was largely separated from the outside world.

Today the fair draws 192,691 buyers from 212 countries and regions, including 106,716 from around Asia, the leading source of buyers, followed by Europe, America, and Africa. In October, the fair reached a record high contract volume of 34 billion USD.

Agricultural by-products and building materials were once the hottest goods during the fair's first few sessions. In recent years, textiles, electronics and household appliances have taken their place and now foreign purchasers are showing greater interest in China's high-tech and branded products.

Clearly, such a change in the variety of Chinese exports is closely related to the country's market-oriented economic reform. More than a quarter century of reform has dramatically raised the efficiency of the national economy and sharpened the competitiveness of numerous domestic enterprises.

In particular, the country's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 has enabled itself to rapidly rise as a global manufacturing centre. This year, the fair set up special exhibition region to showcase local famous brands as a step towards developing the "Designed-in-China" trend.

Since the 1980s, China's export-oriented economic policy has resulted in huge trade surpluses and foreign exchange reserves. Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said, China's domestic market has been expanding rapidly and is capable of accommodating more im-ports from around the world.

Beginning from the next session, the Chinese Export Commodities Fair will change its name to the Chinese Import and Export Commodities Fair. This reflects the fair's shift in platform to become a stimulus for imports as well as exports. This marks a new starting point for the fair after its golden jubilee. How the import exhibition will be organized is still under discussion.

GUANGDONG'S OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE

Guangdong accounts for 8.85 billion of the nation's 34 billion USD in contracted capital in the fair, outdoing other provinces and regions.

Many foreign businessmen coming to the Canton Fair plan their visits to Guangdong factories. Transportation to these factories has been easier in recent years thanks to the province's expanded highway network. These business trips help overseas visitors to know more about their Guangdong business part-ners' manufacturing ability and local investment environment. These visits have also sparked continued trade as well as foreign investment.

The fair has been playing very important role in helping Guangdong keep strong export momentum and broadening the local enterprises' business horizon. It can be expected that the fair will continue to push the province in deepening its involvement in global trade.

BRIEF HISTORY OF CANTON FAIR

1950's

In the spring of 1957, the Canton Fair was inaugurated in Guangzhou, which is adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao and cherishes advantageous conditions of trading. At the first session, 13 trading delegations exhibited over 10,000 kinds of products and 1,223 buyers from 19 countries attended the fair. In its first year, the Canton Fair achieved a transaction of the national income of foreign exchange that year.

1960's- 1970's

The Fair was held continuously even in the period of 3-year natural calamities and during the 10-year Cultural Revolution. The annual transaction volume broke through 5 billion USD and the number of buyers totaled 40,000. The Fair built a solid base for the coming tide of reform and opening-up.

1980's

In April of 1982, at the 51st session, Canton Fair shortened its duration from 30 days to 20 days. In the spring of 1983, at the 53rd session, foreign-funded enterprises began to exhibit at the fair. In the autumn of 1989, at the 66th session, the Fair once more shortened its duration from 20 days to 15 days. In the same year it achieved the outstanding annual transaction volume of 10 billion USD.

1990's

In 1993 and 1994 the Fair introduced two major reforms in its traditional pattern of organizing trading delegations and exhibition booths according to the categories of products, by adopting the principle (still applicable today) that "while the trading delegations are to be organized by different provinces and municipalities, the exhibition sections are to be arranged by chambers of commerce, the exhibits to be displayed by different industries in accordance with the principle of combining trading delegations with exhibition sections."

To meet the requirements of the reform in the foreign trade system, the Fair carried out strategies of "market pluralism", of "winning by quality", of "invigorating trade with science and technology" and of "a big economic cooperation and trade". Both attendance and turnover continued to go up steadily. Even in the years 1998 and 1999 when our foreign trade was hard hit by the impact brought about by the Asia Financial Crisis, the attendance and turnover didn't go down; instead, they created new records.

New Century

In the spring of 2000, the 87th Fair shortened its duration from 15 days to 12 days.

In the spring of 2002, the 91st Fair took on a significant reform of holding the Fair in two phases. The original twelve day fair was divided into two stages, each lasting six days. Ever since the reform, the Fair combines the feature of comprehensiveness with specialization. At that session, 120,000 buyers attended the Fair and a transaction volume of 16.85 billion USD was achieved.

At the 94th session, the number of buyers and transaction volume both hit an all-time high. 150,000 buyers attended this session and the turnover broke through 20 billion USD.

At the Spring Fair, 2004, the first phase construction of Canton Fair (Pazhou) Complex was put into full use and the 95th Fair was held simultaneously at the two fair complexes, with the size of the Fair expanding to the third place among the world's annual exhibitions.

The 96th Fair continues to be enlarged and leaps to 2nd among the world's annual exhibitions.

Editor: Yan