The China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, has long been a platform for overseas buyers to find their trading partners in China. As the world economy slowly recovers, what kind of message do the buyers bring to Chinese exporters this time?
During this spring session of the Canton fair, more than 200,000 overseas buyers are expected. But a fair spokesman says the number of participants from European Union countries is likely to fall due to the fair’s clash with the Easter holidays.
"Since the beginning of this year, the economy is slowly recovering, but there is still a lot to be done," said Italian buyer Lisa Migliorini.
The European economy remains in a painful and slow recovery but North American buyers' demand for additional cooperation is growing. Some Chinese exporters have already felt a steady growth in orders from their major trading partners during the past few months.
"Our orders from European clients keep declining because there is very little growth for their economy. But it is a different situation for our U.S. and South American clients. Their orders in the first quarter are pretty good," said Gary Cheng, Sales Director at Kingsun Industries.
Recent years have seen fast economic growth for emerging economies like Brazil and South Africa and their demand for Chinese products continues to grow fast. More and more buyers from those countries come here to seek new opportunities.
Rising labor and raw material costs have created many challenges for Chinese manufacturers, but China still has advantages built over the past decades. Those exporters expect steady growth against the global recovery.
Source: CCTV
