Globalization is retreating? The first phase of the 140th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) challenges this notion. This fair opened in Guangzhou on October 14 and runs through November 4 in three phases. It drew 189,000 overseas buyers from 214 countries and regions, up 13.3 percent from the same phase of the previous session—a record high for the fair's first phase.
With more than 30,000 exhibitors and about 340,000 overseas buyers expected across the full event, the fair offers a timely test of a familiar claim: if globalization is truly in retreat, why do buyers keep coming—and why do they keep coming back?
The answers, gathered on the fairgrounds, come down to three things.
First, the fair delivers—on price, quality, speed and access to markets. Klimmer Johann Anton, Buyer and Managing Director of Dr. Helmut Rothenberger Holding GmbH, shared his company's story: it exports from China to other countries, moving about 6,000 containers a year worth roughly US$200 million, a business built over many years. This year or next, the plan is to lift turnover from China to Europe and the U.S. to about US$250 million.
Cassiano Pascoal Pereira Neto, President of the Federation of Industries of Paraíba, Brazil, offered a similar view, saying Brazilian industrialists need price, quality and fast delivery—and that they come to Guangzhou precisely to secure all three. These are not projections in a report. They are votes cast in orders, containers and repeat business.
But profitable deals can be found elsewhere, so why here? The second reason is that the Canton Fair is difficult to replace. What sets it apart is not one particular product but the density of the entire sourcing ecosystem.
Andre Serrano, a Brazilian buyer, explained that the fair is now very popular in Brazil because "you can find everything in one place"—it is the biggest trade fair that brings different industries together, and it also offers solutions in logistics, customs and translation. For a first-time buyer who wants to import goods, he said, the Canton Fair is the best place to start.
The fair compresses months of sourcing into days. However, when an order is worth a million dollars, speed is not enough—buyers also need to know whom they can trust. As Serrano put it, you cannot trust a million-dollar machinery purchase online; you have to come to places like the Canton Fair and see the owner face to face before you can trust them and make a purchase.
A face-to-face meeting can begin a business relationship, but it does not explain why someone would return 42 times. It points to the third reason: the Canton Fair never stands still.
Issam Sarakbi, a Syrian buyer, said he started attending in 2006, marking his 42nd visit this year. Every year brings something new—new factories and more professional factories—while established companies have become more professional and more experienced.
Carlos Carvajal, a Chilean buyer on his fifth visit since October 2024, said attendance is even higher than in past years. The fair looks better organized, and products get better each year. Sikandar, a Pakistani buyer who has attended for 15 years, pointed to many new suppliers, new factories, innovative products, AI products and robots. To earn that kind of loyalty, the fair and the suppliers behind it must keep evolving.
A single trade fair cannot settle the entire debate over globalization. However, it can show what businesses are actually doing. The routes of global trade are changing, new markets are joining, and one-off transactions are becoming long-term partnerships. This trend does not suggest that globalization is fading away; rather, it indicates that globalization is being rewired. The Canton Fair remains one of the places where that rewiring happens.
Reporters | Xie Maishi, Zeng Xiangxing, Dai Bosi
Poster | Lai Meiya
