Zhejiang Pujiang County Shengkai Textile Factory has attended the twice-yearly China Import and Export Fair, also known as Canton Fair, for 10 years, but this year is different due to the novel coronavirus epidemic. For the first time in its 63-year history, the fair, is not being held on-site in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province in south China, and instead it is organized online from June 15 to 24.   

The Canton Fair has long been a platform for enterprises in China to explore the international market. Due to the epidemic, merchants have adopted livestreaming to participate in this year's event. According to organizers of the fair, it includes 50 exhibition areas based on 16 categories of commodities. It attracts some 25,000 Chinese export-oriented companies which showcase 1.8 million products and services through photos, videos and 3D formats to help connect suppliers and purchasers. 

Foreign buyers can register on the 24-hour livestreaming platform and start purchase negotiations at any time during the exhibition period. All companies have been exempted from paying exhibition fees. 

The online fair has focused on attracting enterprises participating in the Belt and Road and encouraged participation of domestic enterprises from poverty-stricken regions. As Li Jinqi, Deputy Director-General of the fair’s organizing committee told a press conference on June 10, around 72 percent of the enterprises participating in the Canton Fair this year are from countries participating in the Belt and Road. Meanwhile, the number of participating enterprises from poverty-stricken counties totals 1,318, up 62.3 percent year on year.  

The online fair has not limited the number of exhibitors and buyers, which is expected to increase the efficiency of negotiations. It can provide a reference for the third China International Import Expo to be held later this year, given the global virus spread, Bai Ming, Deputy Director of the International Market Research Institute under the China Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told Global Times.  

The fair is expected to help foreign trade enterprises retain markets and boost market expectations, which shows China's support for a multilateral trade system amid the epidemic, Li said.  

Although some countries and regions have eased lockdown despite the grave pandemic situation, the recovery of demand will still take time. Given uncertainties in the global trade landscape, China's foreign trade is facing great challenges, Zhang Li, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), told the press conference. 

The World Trade Organization projects that this year's global trade would fall by 13 percent to 32 percent. Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that China's foreign trade in goods dropped by 4.9 percent year on year to 11.54 trillion yuan ($1.63 trillion) in the first five months of this year. 

To support foreign trade enterprises during the difficult time, the Chinese Government has increased the number of cross-border e-commerce trial zones to 105. Some enterprises have also switched to online marketplaces to weather the headwinds.  

The Shengkai Textile is a merchant on DHgate.com, a China-based small-scale cross-border e-commerce marketplace. Zhang Tiantian, a sales manager of the marketplace, said that the epidemic has caused a drop in the number of large orders. "To cope with the situation, we have switched to seeking small orders and attracting small businesses through DHgate.com to tap into global opportunities," the manager said. 

The MOFCOM will continue to back up foreign trade enterprises, stabilize supply chains, boost cross-border e-commerce and expand imports to ensure high-quality development of China’s foreign trade, Zhang said. 

Copyedited by Madhusudan Chaubey 

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