Global buyers, Chinese exhibitors hail fruitful outcomes as Canton Fair concludes

Chinese exhibitors and overseas buyers have hailed the fruitful breakthroughs made at the 139th China Import and Export Fair, or the Canton Fair, as the grand trade event drew to a close in Guangzhou of south China’s Guangdong Province on Tuesday.

Held across three phases from April 15 to May 5, the fair highlighted a diverse range of categories from advanced manufacturing to home living and lifestyle products and featured a staggering 75,700 booths and more than 32,000 enterprises.

As of Monday, the fair had already attracted a record high of 314,000 overseas buyers from 220 countries and regions, underscoring its growing global importance.

This year, the event’s total exhibition area was further expanded and upgraded, allowing more space for firms to demonstrate their latest products and equipment. Among them were 50 companies showcasing their latest applications in the medical health and artificial intelligence sectors. A group from Xi’an City in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, which co-drafted the first national standard for “3D body scanning” with the China National Institute of Standardization, brought along several of its new developments to the trade fair.

In addition to its traditional functions of recording and analyzing human physiological data, one of the most eye-catching features of its “body scanner” is that it is capable of producing a fully 3D scanned image of a user in a matter of seconds, allowing for a clear, real-time rendering of the test subject’s body shape using 3D printing technology.

“Actually, we are preparing a Pilates studio in Slovakia. So we would like to have this scan for body, so the client can see his posture, his body fat, and metabolic age,” said one interested buyer.

In the final few days of the fair, organizers also set up a concurrent matchmaking event for firms engaged in the bag and leather goods sector in Shiling Town of Guangzhou’s Huadu District — an area which has become renowned and trusted for its high-quality leatherware.

Overseas buyers engaged in in-depth discussions with 52 local premium enterprises in Huadu, with the intended procurement value exceeding 38.75 million U.S. dollars.

One company representative said his firm has enjoyed a long association of involvement with the fair, stretching back to the days when it was held in the smaller Liuhua Complex in Guangzhou. He said the growth of both the Canton Fair and his business is testament to the increasing external demand.

“We first entered the Liuhua Complex of the Canton Fair in 1997. Over the past few decades, the people of Shiling Town have truly built an excellent base. Whether in terms of technology, research and development, or product quality, it should be considered top-tier within the domestic industry. More and more new clients are bringing new demands, which gives us even greater opportunities to engage with the outside world,” said Zhang Xuanhao, general manager of Guangzhou Huadu District Huilong Leather Goods company.

Established in 1957, the Canton Fair takes place twice a year in Guangzhou. It is the longest-running of several comprehensive international trade events in China, and has been hailed as a key barometer of China’s foreign trade.

Enduring friendships between giant pandas at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in southwest China’s Sichuan Province has been captured in recently released footage, showcasing the success of the base’s science-backed animal welfare practices.

Captured at the base’s Moonlight Delivery House, Star Giant Panda Nursery House and No. 1 Giant Panda Villa, the video clips feature various pairs of same-age pandas joyfully playing and wrestling together.

The practice of housing same-age pandas together is a form of social enrichment, designed to promote interaction and behavioral diversity among individuals.

Panda enrichment refers to scientific conservation methods employed in captivity to enhance the welfare of these national treasures, meet their physiological and psychological needs, and encourage them to display more natural behaviors.

The Chengdu base is a world-renowned facility for ex-situ conservation, scientific research and breeding, public education, and eco-tourism. It is globally recognized for protecting and breeding endangered Chinese wildlife species such as giant pandas and red pandas.