CGTN Poll丨70 years of the Canton Fair: What does the world gain through China's open door?

The 140th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) has opened in the southern city of Guangzhou City, south China's Guangdong Province.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Canton Fair, which has played an important role in promoting trade between China and other countries.

It has become an effective platform for China to expand high-standard opening up and advance the development of an open world economy.

A survey conducted by CGTN among global respondents shows that 85.1% believe China's continued hosting of the Canton Fair demonstrates its resolve to advance high-standard opening up and injects sustained new momentum into inclusive and equitable economic globalization, and global development and prosperity.

For the first time, this year's Canton Fair has deeply integrated cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data into every stage of the event, introducing 22 smart application scenarios and 16 AI-powered features.

For example, exhibitors and buyers can exchange digital business cards by scanning QR codes, AI can automatically generate summaries of business negotiations, and the system can automatically archive customer information and identify high-potential orders.

In this regard, 84.1% of respondents believe that the Canton Fair is evolving from a traditional trading platform into an intelligent exhibition and service platform.

In addition, this year's fair has, for the first time, introduced a dedicated zone for new product launches. More than 700 new product launch events are expected to be held, representing a 15% increase in the number of new products unveiled.

The number of new products in emerging industries of the future, including service robotics, smart healthcare, intelligent manufacturing and new energy, is expected to rise by around 20% compared with the previous edition.

About 83% of respondents say this reflects a shift in China's foreign trade from expansion in scale toward improvements in quality and product mix. Another 85.6% believe that “Intelligent Manufacturing in China” is becoming an important driver of the global digital and intelligent economies.

Notably, this year's Canton Fair has established nine dedicated zones for trade services, for the first time covering all 10 major categories of producer services and providing businesses with full life-cycle support as they expand into overseas markets.

About 84.5% of respondents believe that this integrated ecosystem combining trade and services has significantly enhanced the international competitiveness of businesses and their products.

The fair has also established a buyers' alliance for the first time to promote information sharing and resource coordination among its members.

A total of 83.9% of respondents say the alliance's structured and institutionalized operations can effectively improve global procurement efficiency and strengthen ties between supply and demand, while 88.8% believe that the continuous upgrading of the fair's services and products has enhanced China's influence in global supply chain governance.

Amid global market volatility and a complex, changing geopolitical landscape, the Canton Fair continues to bring together buyers and exhibitors from around the world with an open and inclusive approach.

The previous edition attracted 314,000 overseas buyers from 220 countries and regions, generating intended export deals worth $25.7 billion. Its global reach continues to expand, with more than 210,000 buyers from 196 countries and regions having pre-registered before this year's fair opened.

A total of 87.2% of respondents say the Canton Fair provides an important opportunity for the international community to share in the benefits of China's vast market.

Meanwhile, 77.2% call on countries to work with China to uphold the multilateral trading system, ensure the stability and smooth functioning of global industrial and supply chains, and continue to expand mutually beneficial international economic and trade cooperation.

The survey was published on CGTN's English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian platforms, attracting 4,498 overseas respondents who shared their views within 24 hours.