An online opening ceremony was held on Saturday morning. It marked the beginning of the 132nd Canton Fair that has begun to find its feet in the online space.

CAO CHUFENG, Guangzhou "This is the venue for Canton Fair. It has an exhibition area of nearly 1.2 million square meters. Before the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of people gathered here to discuss business every year. Now, the discussions have moved online, creating both challenges and opportunities."

TANG PING, Senior Manager, Canton Fair Operation Department, China Foreign Trade Center "Although the current Canton Fair cannot realize offline negotiation, it can make use of the advantages of modern information technology. At the present, the exhibitors are displaying more than three million pieces of products at our platform, this is a record high, and a magnitude that is difficult to achieve offline."

There were about 250-thousand exhibitors during each offline session. Now, with unlimited space, The Canton Fair allows all enterprises that meet requirements to participate. 350-thousand exhibitors are displaying their products at this session. Li Zhong's company, which is China's largest painting tool manufacturer, is a returning exhibitor.

LI ZHONG, Chairman of the Board, Guangzhou Pintech Metal Tools Company "The Canton Fair is one of our main trading channels. The platform is quite mature. We have been to other trade fairs around the world, but we feel that the Canton Fair is proven to be the most effective."

Some regular international buyers also committed to return to the fair.

HARESH ROOPANI, Director, Vitram FZCO "You get everything under one roof. You will have options to choose. That's something I really enjoy and appreciate about the Canton Fair."

The time limit has also been extended from around 10 days to five months for this session, and the organizer says it will continue to improve the user experience of its online platform.