General

New Trends in International Trade! The State Council Office of the People's Republic of China held a press conference today for the 133rd China International Trade Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair), which will be held offline in Guangzhou from April 15th to May 5th this year. At the same time, the normalized operation of online platforms has also begun. Wang Shouwen, the representative and deputy minister of international trade negotiations at the Ministry of Commerce, said in response to reporters' questions about "how much contribution the Canton Fair has to GDP" that the on-site transaction volume of the Canton Fair serves as a "wind vane" and cannot comprehensively reflect the entire transaction volume, and its contribution to GDP cannot be accurately calculated.

Wang Shouwen said that the on-site transaction data at the Canton Fair does not represent all the transaction data at the Fair. Specifically, when a foreign purchaser arrives at the Canton Fair to negotiate with a Chinese exhibitor, they feel that the product is good, with good prices, delivery times, and transportation conditions. They can immediately complete the transaction, which is an on-site transaction volume. More importantly, this transaction amount is only one of them. After the exhibition, they feel that this product has a strong market, and there may be a second, third, and fourth transaction. So on site, the transaction volume of each session does not represent the total transaction volume of the Canton Fair.

Wang Shouwen said that as a trading platform, the Canton Fair has greatly reduced the transaction costs for exhibitors and buyers. Why do hundreds of thousands of foreign buyers come to participate in the Canton Fair? Because after they come, they can not only meet one supplier, but also the best suppliers in the industry in China. Participating in the Canton Fair is subject to qualification review, and enterprises with poor reputation and quality cannot participate in the Fair. So, when foreign buyers come to the Canton Fair, they deal with trustworthy enterprises that are highly competitive.

At the press conference, Chu Shijia, Director of the China Center for Foreign Trade, stated that relevant studies have shown that the Canton Fair has a driving effect on the regional economy of 1:13.6, fully playing an important role in serving international trade, promoting internal and external connectivity, and promoting the development of international trade and economy.