128th Canton Fair Reports Successful Virtual Turnout

October 28, 2020  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry   

As of October 24, the Fair’s platform received 51.17 million visits, including over 7.89 million visits to companies' virtual exhibition hall.

Xu Bing, spokesperson of the Canton Fair and deputy director general of China Foreign Trade Centre, noted that the current COVID-19 pandemic has brought extreme challenges as countries try to simultaneously expand their economies and save lives. China endeavors to facilitate a return to normality for international industry and supply chains, as well as aiding in the recovery of international trade and investment.

26,000 exhibitors brought more than 2.47 million products, an increase of 16.5 percent from the last edition, including 8,500 products from 346 international exhibitors across 30 countries. Among them, 730,000 new products were launched at the event, increasing by 21.6 percent.

This year's Canton Fair has seen a significant trending products with innovation in design, function, craftsmanship and materials. 131 products from 91 companies were rewarded for their bold and innovative designs, receiving prizes from the prestigious 2020 Canton Fair Design Awards.

The grand trade show also applies "new" technologies such as big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence, offering an immersive experience to buyers through the use of graphics, videos, 3-D and virtual reality (VR) platforms. The VR exhibition hall showcased products from 2,046 companies, and was visited 163,200 times in total, while customized live streaming showrooms were also a hit, with 1.89 million people tuning in.

Buyers commented on this virtual Canton Fair that it has offered exceptional user experience from browsing new products, knowing new technologies and market insights to joining an interactive conversation. The upgraded functions have enabled them efficiently to access high-quality products from a number of suppliers and manufacturers online.

In addition to exhibitions, the Canton Fair also hosted a series of online and offline supporting events to explore and further boost international trade. 38 virtual business matching events were hosted in 37 countries and regions, and 6 business associations from Africa, Europe and Asia joined Canton Fair Global Cooperative Partnership Program.