Canton Fair to go back offline

China's largest trade show,the Canton Fair,is scheduled to fully resume its offline activities in April, according to the event’s organizer.

The 133rd session of the trade event, officially known as the China Import and Export Fair,is scheduled to kick off April 15 in Guangzhou,capital of southern China’s Guangdong Province.

South Korean buyers view household appliances during the 130th session of the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, in this file photo. The trade fair is scheduled to fully resume its offline activities in April, according to the event’s organizer. Xinhua

The event, which has been held twice a year since 1957, will resume physical exhibitions after three years of COVID-19 prevention and control measures,setting off a new chapter in China’s global trade,said Chu Shijia,deputy director and secretary general of the fair.The upcoming session will also be held online.

Chu said that the exhibition area would be expanded to 1.5 million square meters this year from previous 1.18 million square meters.

It is estimated that more than 30,000 Chinese and foreign firms will take part in the upcoming session. Participating Chinese firms include more than 5,000 leading manufacturing and high-tech firms of the country.

The April session will feature three new exhibition areas for industrial automation and intelligent manufacturing, new energy and intelligent connected vehicles, and maternity, infant and children’s products, as well as three new special zones focused on intelligent life, the sliver economy, and testing reagents and protective products, Chi said.

These new additions bring the number of exhibition areas to 54 and special zones to 159, Chu said.

With the additions of new exhibition areas and new special zones, as well as an increase in import exhibitions, this year’s Canton Fair is expected to share new development opportunities with the rest of the world, Chu said.

Firms from Germany, Spain, Italy, Türkiye, South Korea, India and Malaysia are expected to participate in the exhibition.

More activities such as international trade forums and trade promotions will also be held at the fair.