[Inside the Canton Fair] Pazhou Once Again Plays China's Vibrant Symphony of Foreign Trade

In April in Yangcheng, the city of the goat, spring is in full bloom, with all things bursting into vibrant life. The 137th Canton Fair has arrived as scheduled, drawing global attention. Exhibitors and buyers—spanning diverse skin tones and languages—have braved oceans and mountains to gather here once again, embracing each other warmly and jointly composing a harmonious symphony of shared prosperity. Amidst these lively notes, one can clearly sense the resolute strides of Chinese enterprises toward innovation and intelligence, as well as the palpable excitement of partners eagerly moving forward together. At the same time, the rhythm mirrors the robust pulse of China’s thriving foreign trade—and resonates powerfully with the era’s call for mutual growth and common prosperity.

Connecting the World, Empowering Global Trade Development

The exhibition spans a total area of 1.55 million square meters, featuring approximately 74,000 booths. This year’s event saw nearly 900 more participating companies from overseas compared to the previous session, marking the first time the number of international exhibitors has surpassed 30,000. As of April 15, the Canton Fair has already welcomed a cumulative 64,530 offline attendees from around the globe. Against the backdrop of rising global trade protectionism and an increasingly challenging external environment, this year’s Canton Fair has delivered a series of impressive figures, underscoring China’s robust resilience in foreign trade and highlighting the bright prospects for global economic cooperation.

"The Canton Fair has provided us with an excellent platform to expand into international markets." Recalling his company’s years of participation, Liu Dang, Foreign Trade Manager at Chaoyang Huaxing Wanda Tire Co., Ltd., told reporters that the company had previously focused primarily on the domestic market. However, in recent years, due to various factors, the company had grown increasingly eager to tap into overseas markets. "It was precisely at the Canton Fair that we connected with more and more international buyers and identified a wealth of untapped opportunities abroad. Today, we’ve already established a solid foothold in markets like Southeast Asia—and we’re actively working to explore new ones as well."

From Liu Dang's perspective, each time he participates in the Canton Fair, he feels it’s incredibly rewarding. "On one hand, we get to meet countless overseas buyers here—allowing us not only to strengthen cooperation with our existing clients but also to connect with many new ones, all while saving significant time and reducing costs. On the other hand, interacting face-to-face with other exhibitors, especially those in the upstream and downstream sectors, has opened up numerous opportunities for collaboration."

While offline exhibitions continue to foster remarkable partnerships, the empowerment of digital technologies is also enabling the online Canton Fair to remain "open 24/7." Through spring and autumn—both winter and summer—the platform facilitates orders that seamlessly cross oceans, perfectly embodying the spirit of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.

"The online platform of the Canton Fair is highly professional, enabling us to connect more efficiently and precisely with overseas buyers. At the same time, the Canton Fair's prestigious 'golden brand' serves as a strong endorsement for both buyers and exhibitors," said Li Jianfeng, head of Zhanjiang Qitai Industrial & Trade Development Co., Ltd., as he shared with reporters. Thanks to the support of the online platform, his company has already established connections with several international buyers and successfully forged collaborative partnerships.

"Moreover, the launch of the Canton Fair app could not have come at a better time—now we can connect with customers quickly and efficiently right at our fingertips," Li Jianfeng added. "We look forward to seeing this app gain even wider adoption, bringing convenience to more buyers and exhibitors alike."

As of April 8, the Canton Fair app has been downloaded 148,000 times. It’s reported that this year’s event features upgraded versions of the app—tailored specifically for buyers and suppliers—offering more precise services and enhanced functionality. Additionally, the Canton Fair has refined its online platform service packages in terms of both standards and content, revamped the "trade matching" system, streamlined the supply-and-demand connection process, and boosted both the efficiency and accuracy of matchmaking.

Empowering innovation, contributing more Chinese wisdom

Since its launch on the first day, the smart living experience zone created by Guangzhou Shiyuan Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. has drawn a steady stream of visitors, with overseas buyers continuously arriving to explore the innovative offerings. By combining product showcases, immersive scenario simulations, and interactive experiences, the zone vividly presents a captivating vision of tomorrow’s intelligent lifestyle, showcasing a unique "China Solution" for digital transformation.

"To better extend educational innovation from campus settings into the home environment, we’re highlighting a new product—XIV Parent-Child Screen," a relevant representative from Visiontek told reporters. Designed specifically for modern families, the XIV Parent-Child Screen is a versatile 55-inch interactive, eye-friendly display that combines touch-based interaction, human-machine collaboration, motion-sensing capabilities, and AI-driven intelligence. Packed with high-quality learning content, engaging parent-child interactive apps, a comprehensive growth-oriented system, and safe, eye-friendly hardware, this device empowers children to learn, play, and even stay active—all within the comfort of their own homes—while fostering the development of diverse skills. At the same time, by encouraging shared, interactive experiences between parents and kids, the device helps cultivate a warm and nurturing family atmosphere.

"The Canton Fair serves as a window showcasing China's innovative strength," said a relevant official from AV Group. "Leveraging the exceptional platform of China's premier trade show, the company is empowering its products with cutting-edge technology, enabling global users to enjoy smarter, more convenient experiences in both office settings and daily life—while simultaneously boosting the growing international influence of Chinese tech brands."

Shiyuan Shares' smart solutions made a stunning debut, perfectly embodying the "innovation" and "intelligence" that define this year's Canton Fair. Today, smart technology has become a standout hallmark of the event. Preliminary statistics show that over 1,100 companies are showcasing their intelligent products across dedicated smart exhibition areas and zones at this year's fair, with an impressive 320,000 smart items on display.

Notably, this year’s Canton Fair has introduced a dedicated service robot zone for the first time, featuring a diverse range of cutting-edge robotic products from 46 leading industry players. These include embodied robots, commercial service robots, educational and entertainment robots, showcasing China’s latest advancements in service robotics as well as the broader upstream and downstream industry ecosystem.

As a high-tech enterprise that has participated in over 50 sessions of the Canton Fair and specializes in the R&D, manufacturing, and sales of intelligent service robots and smart appliances, Ecovacs Robotics Co., Ltd. has leveraged its long-term investments and deep expertise in key technologies such as sensor technology, AI algorithms, and human-machine interaction to tap into broader overseas markets. Being selected as an exhibitor in the dedicated service robot zone has also filled the company’s leaders with great anticipation for this year’s Canton Fair.

"This time at the exhibition, we’ve brought several highly acclaimed commercial cleaning robots," said the company official. "We believe that on the dazzling stage of the Canton Fair, our products will attract even more attention and showcase China’s innovative solutions to consumers around the world." (Hong Jianru)