Along the banks of the Pearl River, a gathering of myriad merchants once again takes place. On April 15th, the 135th Canton Fair opened in Guangzhou under the theme of "Serving High-Quality Development, Promoting High-Level Opening Up," sending out a resounding "promise of openness" to the world towards external engagement.
What does it mean to be "pre-heated before unfolding"? One only needs to look at continuously refreshing sets of data to understand: as of April 13th, 144,000 overseas buyers from 215 countries and regions had pre-registered. Among them, there was a 21.4% increase from the United States, a 13% increase from OECD countries, a 24.7% increase from Middle Eastern countries, a 45.9% increase from Belt and Road countries, and a 15.5% increase from RCEP countries. A total of 288 leading enterprises and business institutions confirmed their participation, marking a 21.5% increase compared to the previous session. Particularly noteworthy is the significant increase in the presence of top retailers from around the world, with nearly 200 leading companies such as Walmart from the United States, Schneider Electric from France, Tesco from the United Kingdom, Metro from Germany, IKEA from Sweden, Daiso from Japan, and Coppel from Mexico confirming their participation.
The enthusiastic participants from around the globe reflect the world's eagerness. Such "super popularity" is not only for the Canton Fair but also for the shared development opportunities. This session of the Canton Fair is the first to trial cross-border e-commerce comprehensive test zones and overseas warehouse display areas. It will also host 315 events for the debut of products, covering 13 industries including industrial manufacturing, electronics and home appliances, vehicles, and fashion. Through the Canton Fair, an increasing number of national-level high-tech enterprises, "hidden champions," and specialized and innovative "little giants" are stepping into the global spotlight. The event unleashes the immense potential of the global market and enables "global friends" to become participants in China's high-quality development.
Canton fair, global share. As a "golden signboard" demonstrating China's unwavering commitment to high-level opening up, the 135th Canton Fair will meet higher expectations than ever before.
What's pleasantly surprising is that this "event of openness" not only reflects China's determination to open its doors wider but also its sincerity in making its market more accessible. For instance, this session of the Canton Fair continues to implement measures such as advance registration, remote registration, and 24-hour registration, with 271 overseas buyer registration counters set up in exhibition halls, airports, ports, and hotels, significantly reducing waiting times during peak periods. Additionally, facilities such as foreign exchange machines and mobile POS terminals have been added to improve payment convenience, allowing overseas visitors to trade smoothly within the exhibition halls by using cash, foreign currency cards, and mobile payments, among other globally accepted payment methods. In various aspects of hospitality, China's commitment to sharing opportunities and creating a win-win future remains steadfast.
All goodness comes from mutual efforts. By once again making the "promise of openness" to the world, the Canton Fair serves as a platform for shared opportunities and shared development. It is reasonable to expect that global merchants will, through China's Canton Fair, explore new avenues of cooperation and jointly create a beautiful future of mutual benefit, win-win cooperation, and prosperity.
Source: Yangcheng Evening News
