The "Three New Trends" of the Canton Fair reflect the new trend of China's foreign trade structure towards optimization
Guangzhou, May 5th (Xinhua) - The 139th Canton Fair concluded on May 5th in Guangzhou, presenting "three new trends" including the layout of new zones, the gathering of new products, and the exploration of new markets. The interviewed experts believe that this reflects the structural adjustment and phased progress made by China's foreign trade system.
For the first time, this year's Canton Fair has added 9 special zones for smart wearables, consumer grade drones, fashion accessories, and functional and technological fabrics, making the exhibition design more targeted. It is reported that the exhibition area of this year's Canton Fair has increased to 179.
Yuanhua Intelligent Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. unveiled its self-developed robotic arm in the "Smart Medical Zone". The deputy general manager of the company, Zhou Yue, felt that the overseas buyers who visited the special zone had higher professionalism and clearer procurement goals.
According to Zhou Wei, a researcher at the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce of China, the innovation in the layout of the Canton Fair is not only to meet the personalized needs of overseas buyers, allowing them to quickly find entry points through supply and demand comparisons, but also to make new technologies and products of Chinese enterprises easier to see, thereby establishing better connections with overseas buyers.
From the perspective of exhibition area settings, when a certain type of product shifts from scattered display to concentrated presentation in dedicated areas, it usually means that the category is evolving from initial expansion to a relatively mature segmentation stage. Chen Feng, deputy researcher at the Modern Industry Research Institute of Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, said that the 139th Canton Fair has set up 9 new special areas, objectively reflecting that China's intelligent wearables, drones, functional fabrics and other fields have developed from sporadic small items to segmented industries with a certain exhibition volume, and have initially formed a large-scale and systematic foundation on the supply side.
At this year's Canton Fair, new technological products and scenarios representing China's new quality productivity, such as humanoid robots and drones, were showcased in a concentrated manner; Meanwhile, nearly one-third of the participating companies provide "product+service" solutions, demonstrating a new trend of China's foreign trade towards innovation and excellence.
Wang Lixin, Chairman of Dalian Darrent Fragrance Technology Co., Ltd., believes that the Canton Fair is a "touchstone" for testing the innovation strength of enterprises. In recent years, the company has launched about 5000 new products every year, relying on the two sessions of the Canton Fair to release and accept global market inspections.
The proportion of new products at this year's Canton Fair reached 23%. Chen Feng analyzed that this reflects the continuous improvement of technology transformation efficiency of Chinese enterprises, accelerated product iteration, and accelerated transformation of innovative achievements. At the same time, it also indicates that China's foreign trade structure is accelerating its evolution towards high-tech content and high added value, and the innovation driven characteristics are constantly strengthening.
The new purchasers at this Canton Fair are mainly from countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road". Latin America, Africa and other regions have witnessed rapid growth, and the number of professional purchasers has continued to increase. Zhou Wei believes that the significant achievements in developing emerging markets indicate that more and more buyers from various countries are trusting Chinese products. They come to China from all over the world to seek to strengthen trade links, increase supply chain stability, and bring better conditions for sustainable development of supply and demand docking.
Chen Feng pointed out that the diversified layout of China's foreign trade market continues to deepen. In this context, exploring emerging markets also means that Chinese companies face a more complex environment in terms of payment systems, certification standards, and market rule adaptation, which puts higher demands on their comprehensive operational capabilities.