Xinhua News Agency Economic Essay: Seeing the Password of China's Economic Resilience at the Canton Fair
The 139th Canton Fair closed on May 5th, attracting 314000 overseas buyers from 220 countries and regions, an increase of 1.1% compared to the previous edition.
What is even more commendable than the data is what can be seen on site: despite the rise of trade protectionism and the accelerated restructuring of the global industrial and supply chain, this exhibition, which has been held for 70 years, still attracts a large number of people and is full of heat, from the inside to the outside of the venue.
The sign of "China's First Exhibition" is getting brighter and brighter, which is a reflection of the strong attraction of "China's opportunities" and a footnote to the steady progress of the Chinese economy. Walking inside and outside the Canton Fair, one can more vividly perceive the resilience and vitality of China's foreign trade and even the Chinese economy.
At the Canton Fair, we saw China's strong and reliable industrial and supply chains.
Old friends and new friends come in droves. Every second of the Canton Fair is precious, "" The world needs the Canton Fair more than ever, "" Doing business still requires the Canton Fair, "" Overseas buyers are all lamenting.
The 'Old Canton Fair' trusts the stability and flexibility of China's supply chain, and has arrived as promised for decades. Huang Yijun, Chairman of Changyou Group in Indonesia, said that over the past few decades, more than 200000 products have been purchased from China, and there is a continuous stream of new products at the Canton Fair, almost everything is available.
New Canton Market is striving for new and popular products, keeping up with the forefront of the market. Diana, a Venezuelan purchaser who returned to the Canton Fair, couldn't help but exclaim, "I have everything I want here. China's industrial and supply chains are really impressive
At the Canton Fair, we saw the vigorous efforts of Chinese enterprises to move forward and seek innovation and change.
Develop new products. Exoskeleton robots enable disabled people to stand and walk, intelligent delivery robots shuttle back and forth, and drones soar into the sky... Among the 4.65 million exhibits at this year's Canton Fair, new products, green products, and independent intellectual property products account for 23%, 22%, and 25% respectively. High end intelligence, green and low-carbon have become the new labels of China's foreign trade.
Explore new business models. Previously, we only sold goods, but now we also sell services. At this year's Canton Fair, over 7% of participating companies provided a comprehensive solution of "hardware+software+services" to their partners, and nearly 30% of participating companies are transitioning towards this direction. The 5 tables on the AI design workbench booth of Aiyuanwu Light Industry are almost always available. Customers can make requests, and employees can modify designs and adjust samples in just a few minutes on the self-developed platform. The company has also set up a coffee shop around the exhibition hall, providing services from nine to ten and sharing trend information. The demand is very strong.
Explore new markets. Many foreign trade enterprises used to focus on the old markets in Europe and the United States, but now they are also turning to emerging markets such as the "the Belt and Road" countries. The relevant person in charge of Shenzhen Delanminghai New Energy Co., Ltd. said that since its establishment more than ten years ago, the sales territory of energy storage products has extended from Europe and America to Asia, Africa, Latin America and other regions, with more and more old and new friends.
At the Canton Fair, we saw the government's determination and actions to actively optimize services and adhere to high-level opening up to the outside world.
The original intention of the Canton Fair, which has remained unchanged for 70 years, is to open up the world and benefit the world. At this year's Canton Fair, there were 38 supply and procurement docking sessions, 12 exhibition exploration live broadcasts, 25 Middle East live broadcasts, and 9 themed forums to help enterprises accurately expand their markets and efficiently seek business opportunities; 553000 people used the Canton Fair App, and 317000 people experienced booth level navigation. "One click direct access, one code exhibition" made offline docking more relaxed.
Guangzhou has over 500 professional markets with an annual transaction volume exceeding 1.5 trillion yuan. During the Canton Fair, Guangzhou held the first Global Merchant and Professional Market Matchmaking Conference, taking overseas buyers on a large scale to visit professional markets such as textiles, leather goods, beauty, jewelry, etc. These markets have become the "second procurement site".
This year's Canton Fair also launched "exclusive service packages" such as online supply and procurement docking for some merchants who cannot attend. The exclusive exploration activity for Middle Eastern buyers attracted over 3.05 million views and 290000 interactions. Zhu Yong, Director of the China International Trade Center, said, "We fully leverage the function of the Canton Fair as a platform for opening up to the outside world, lighting up every opportunity for global merchants to visit and share new opportunities for China's development
At the Canton Fair, we saw even more.
Featured catering, the Pearl River night tour, intangible cultural heritage experience... purchasers are reluctant to leave, competing in social media display. The large traffic both online and offline reflects the new driving force of high-quality development constantly stimulated by China's promotion of the coexistence and prosperity of humanities and economy, the integration and mutual development of Chinese cultural heritage and service quality.
Although this year's Canton Fair has concluded, the long tail effect is far from over. From "museum exploration" to "factory exploration", many buyers enter the factory after visiting the exhibition to see the craftsmanship and production capacity on site. After returning to China, they can also continue to connect with the official app. Behind the scenes, Dongguan will hold an international procurement docking conference for foreign trade industry clusters, relying on the resources of the Canton Fair to invite 100 high-quality overseas buyers to meet local enterprises face-to-face.
To withstand the impact and overcome the cycle, it comes not only from the unwavering strategic determination, but also from the innovative actions of actively seeking change.
The Canton Fair, with its dual empowerment of various business formats, is upgrading from a single exhibition to a large platform that links various resources, integrates characteristic consumption, and cultural heritage. From this enduring and increasingly popular "traffic entrance", we see a more open and dynamic China, as well as the password for China's economy to break through waves and grow with resilience.