The 136th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, will take place in Guangzhou from October 15 to November 4, divided into three phases. With the theme “Serving High-Quality Development, Promoting High-Level Opening,” the fair will continue its online platform operations as a regular feature.
As of October 9, 223 of the world’s top 250 retailers and large buyers from various countries and regions have confirmed their participation, marking a 24% increase from the same period last year. This year, it’s anticipated that the number of major buyers attending will surpass 300 for the first time.
Cheng Shijia, Director of the China Foreign Trade Center at the Ministry of Commerce, shared that the fair will cover a total exhibition area of 1.55 million square meters with 74,000 booths across 55 exhibition zones and 171 specialized areas. Each phase will focus on “Advanced Manufacturing,” “Quality Home Products,” and “Better Life.” Over 60,000 enterprises will participate in the offline exhibition, with nearly 4,600 newcomers expected, showcasing 1.15 million new products.
In April of this year, the 135th Canton Fair saw the attendance of 246,000 overseas buyers, a 24.5% increase from the previous session, setting a new historical record. Cheng indicated that based on current pre-registration rates from overseas buyers, hotel bookings, and flight reservations, the upcoming fair is projected to maintain steady attendance with improved quality.
The term “major buyers” refers to significant purchasers typically associated with large order volumes. Cheng revealed that confirmed participants include prominent companies such as Walmart and Dollar General from the United States, Auchan and Carrefour from France, Tesco and Kingfisher from the UK, Metro AG and REWE Group from Germany, Daiso and Nitori from Japan, Lulu from the UAE, and The Warehouse from New Zealand.
This year, the fair has enhanced the functionality of its online platform, launching a new Canton Fair App. Approximately 48,000 companies have uploaded around 3.75 million products, representing increases of 60% and 50%, respectively—both hitting historical highs. Additionally, Alibaba’s international B2B platform announced it will set up its first shared live-streaming room at the fair on November 11, allowing all exhibitors to broadcast live with their samples, thus quickly tapping into online business opportunities.
