The128th virtual Canton Fair came to a close on October 24. Xu Bing,Spokesperson of Canton Fair and Deputy Director General of China Foreign TradeCentre introduced the overall situation.
Xusaid that guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with ChineseCharacteristics for a New Era, we carried out the policies and deployments madeat the State Council. Under the strong leadership of the Ministry of Commerceof PRC and Guangdong Provincial Government, with the great support of variousdepartments of the central government, local commerce departments and Chineseembassies abroad, and concerted efforts of all the staff, the 128th CantonFair had operated smoothly with expected results achieved.
Xustated that as the COVID-19 pandemic is still spreading around the globe, theworld economy is in deep recession and countries are facing an arduous task offighting against the pandemic, stabilizing the economy and ensuring people’slivelihood. Hosting the 128th Canton Fair online has not only madedue contributions to stabilizing foreign trade and investment, but alsodemonstrated China’s actions in safeguarding the smooth internationalindustrial and supply chain and the responsibility as a great nation to injectnew impetus into the world economic recovery.
Xuintroduced that the Canton Fair virtualplatform had operated smoothly. The following columns were set up on theplatform, including Exhibitors and Products, Global Business Matchmaking, VRExhibition Hall, Exhibitors On Live, News and Events, Services and Support,Cross-border E-commerce Zone. We integrated functions of online exhibiting,marketing and promotion, business matchmaking and online negotiation to build atrading bridge breaking the limit of time and space for global buyers. As ofOctober 24, the cumulative number of official website visits reached 51.17million. This session featured stronger functions, more quality services andbetter experience. We improved the website in registration simplification,search engine optimization, business matchmaking facilitation; and strengthenedinteraction and smart services to create the offline trading environment.Moreover, the quantity and quality of products displayed was greatly lifted. Asbuyers could register more conveniently and suppliers and buyers communicatemore smoothly, we had better achieved the goal of “register, find products,conduct successful negotiations”; both exhibitors and buyers had spoken highlyof the platform. The official website operated smoothly since launched. Withthe strong network security assurance, there was no incident of the networkinformation security.
More new products and technologies weredisplayed.Nearly 26,000 exhibitors showed their products and there were a large number ofproducts with innovations on design, function, material and techniques.Enterprises competed and achieved transformation with innovations, which fullydemonstrated that China’s foreign trade enterprises stuck to high qualitydevelopment and held a positive attitude towards quality improvement. Over 2.47million products were uploaded, up by 350,000 compared with that of the 127thCanton Fair. Based on the data we collected, there were 730,000 new products,130,000 more than the last session and 100,000 smart products, 20,000 more thanthe previous session. The number of products with self marketing and self-ownedIP and brands saw a continuous growth. 346 overseas enterprises from 30countries and regions uploaded over 8500 products. The feast of productsattracted global buyers to attend. There were 7.89 million visits on virtualexhibition halls, including 7.83 million cumulative visits that of NationalPavilion and 66,200 visits on that of the International Pavilion.
The Fair facilitated digital transformationof enterprises.Powered by Internet, big data, cloud computing, AI technology, the 128thCanton Fair supported exhibitors to participate through pictures, texts, andvideo and in 3D and VR format. We optimized the ranking rule of live streamrooms and encouraged exhibitors to improve their live streaming. Companies madeelaborate preparations in equipment, anchor, language, product and time,tailored individualized live streaming program for different markets. In totalthere were 284,800 live streams on the website, attracting 1.89 million views.We also set up virtual exhibition halls according product themes and displayedall the VR booths together, creating an immersive experience for attendees. 2046exhibitors designed and uploaded VR booths, with over 163,200 visits.
Supplier buyer trade matchmaking was carriedout in an efficient and targeted manner. We improved the trade matchmaking process,simplified distribution of sourcing request, and enabled exhibitors to contactbuyers under their sourcing request to advance supplier buyer interaction. Weadded a message function to help exhibitors seize opportunities in time. Alsothe newly developed name card function was convenient and pragmatic, helpingcompanies to acquire buyer information. Website users sent 186,800 name cardsin total.
Events during the Fair created more value toattendees.During this session, we held a series of quality supporting events, which hadenriched the Fair and created more value to attendees. 38 "Promotion onCloud" and virtual matchmaking were held in 37 countries and regions. Wesigned cooperation agreements with Alexandria Business Association of Egypt,Lebanon’s Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Zahle and Bekaa,Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Nigeria, Tanzania Private SectorFoundation, Minsk Branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry,and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Tajikistan Republic, furtherexpanding Canton Fair's "circle of friends". We held Canton Fair'sfirst dual circulation promotion event, facilitating foreign trade companies toexplore domestic market; many exhibitors gave positive feedback. 105 brandexhibitors from 23 trading delegations staged 120 product release activities,with the number of exhibitors increasing by 80% over the last session and thatof activities doubled. The 2020 CF Awards received 1966 applications from 932companies, a year-on-year increase of 27% and 35% respectively; the finalreview shortlisted 131 winning products from 91 companies. The Canton FairProduct Design and Trade Promotion Centre (PDC) organized, both online andoffline, design show, design forum, trade matchmaking, fashion live show etc,with the participation of nearly 80 design institutions from 10 countries andregions and the number of design institutions went up by 73%. We also co-hostedfinancing event with Bank of China, to solve financing difficulty for SMEs andfoster their operation and development.
Various supporting services were provided. The 128th Canton Fair hasestablished an online-offline merged model to deal with complaints, so as toensure IPR protection. 136 exhibitors were filed in IPR complaints, and 1enterprise was determined as constituting alleged infringement.8 financial institutions of the Financial Services Section customized exclusiveproducts for exhibitors. The Section was visited 95,588 times, offering 1,288loans, and handling 80,939 cases of settlement. Customs services, together withnew business services such as logistics, inspection, and certification wereprovided. We set up the Cross-Border E-commerce Zone and held activities themed“Same Tune, Shared View”. China’s 105 Cross-Border Comprehensive E-CommercePilot Zones were presented to the world. We connected with 4 cross-bordere-commerce platforms, namely Made in China.com, DH gate.com, okorder.com,ChemNet.com via links so as to benefit more enterprises. A multi-media,omni-channel customer service system, which included AI intelligent customerservice and online human customer service staff, has operated round-the-clockto answer questions in multi-languages, providing intelligent and efficientservices for buyers. The answering rates of telephones and online customerservice increased by 71.31 and 34.26 percentage points respectively comparedwith that of the 127th Canton Fair.
The Fair contributed to a new developmentpattern of dual circulation. Various measures were taken to boost not only foreign trade butalso domestic trade. We discovered strengths of exhibitors in domestic marketand presented them to high-quality domestic buyers through multi-channel,all-round marketing. Exhibitors with domestic trade intentions tagged overmillions of products “domestic trade” to help buyers quickly locate them viathe “filter” button. Online and offline activities were organized with thefocus on dual circulation and domestic trade, attracting about 100 representativesof specialized buyer groups and more than 40 exhibitors. We also stepped upefforts to invite domestic buyers; 13,700 domestic buyers registered and attendedthe Fair. Domestic buyers initiated instant messaging with exhibitors for 57,800times, with 1025 requests made.
Results met expectations. The128th Canton Fair served as a secure and reliable platform ofcooperation and exchanges for global buyers. Though the turning point of thepandemic has not yet emerged, the enthusiasm of overseas buyers to conducttrade and economic cooperation with China has not been dampened. Totally,overseas buyers from 226 countries and regions registered for the Fair. Thenumber of buyer source countries hit a record high, further optimizing globalmarket mix. According to overseas buyers, the upgraded Canton Fair virtualplatform brought better user experience with the access to more new products,new technology, new trends and more convenient communication that enabled themto reach high-quality suppliers in an efficient and targeted way. They couldeven view production factories online, which facilitated one-stop negotiationand sourcing. Foreign trade companies indicated that they were able to showproducts and company images effectively at the digital Canton Fair, maintainingrelationships with regular buyers while attracting new buyers in emerging markets,in particular Belt and Road countries. As a result, customer mix as well asmarket mix was more balanced. The 128th Canton Fair providedbusinesses from home and abroad with a communication platform with plenty ofresources, which was in dire need. It helped businesses smooth production andsales channels and get much needed orders, boosting business confidence andstabilizing market expectations.
Xusaid media outlets worldwide produced well-designed and multi-dimensionalreports on the 128th Canton Fair, telling the story and spreadingthe voice of the Fair, thus creating a positive public opinion atmosphere. Helooked forward to meeting everyone in the 129th Canton Fair.
