Canton Fair offers boon to exporters

At a booth inside the Pazhou International Convention and Exhibition Center in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, Xu Yajie, a sales manager, has been busy all day introducing colorful ceramic products to buyers from the United Arab Emirates.

An employee of Guangdong Sitong Group Co Ltd, Xu said "a higher number of overseas buyers, especially those from countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, have visited the booth with interest in innovative products".

Guangdong Sitong is a ceramic company based in Chaozhou, Guangdong. It is among 9,674 companies showcasing their latest innovative products and services during the second phase of the 134th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair.

The event opened on Monday with an exhibition area of 515,000 square meters, displaying products and services in building materials, furniture, home decorations, gifts and household goods.

Guangdong Sitong, which exports to more than 90 markets worldwide, displayed tailor-made ceramic products during the event, Xu said.

"Thanks to preliminary preparations, especially in terms of increased investment in the design and research of new products, buyers from overseas markets like the Middle East, Europe and the United States, have shown greater intention for orders," Xu added.

Improvements in design and technology over the years have made the company's ceramic products offer more added value in the global market, especially in Germany, the Middle East and Central Asia, she said.

"We have seen an increased number of buyers from Germany, which has stricter market standards in design and technology for ceramic products. This has illustrated our products' competitiveness in overseas markets."

As of Wednesday, some 150,000 overseas buyers from 214 countries and regions have attended the event, an increase of more than 50 percent compared with the same phase of the last session of the fair, according to event organizers.

"We have made greater efforts in technological upgrading over the past three years, during which our overseas business was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic," Xu said.

Apart from Guangdong Sitong, more Chinese manufacturers are investing deeper in design innovation and technological research to boost product competitiveness overseas.

Talent Group, a high-end candle and aromatherapy producer based in Dalian, Liaoning province, is displaying its latest innovative candle and aromatherapy series during the fair.

Its Restore series is mainly made of shea butter, a low-carbon material for candle and aroma products, which makes them more competitive in the international market, said Wang Lixin, Talent's chairman.

"Utilizing low-carbon global resources and incorporating traditional Chinese culture in design has greatly boosted our products' value in the global market. They are widely acclaimed by overseas buyers during the exhibition, especially those from developed markets," Wang said.

To accelerate its business expansion overseas, Talent, which exports to 101 markets worldwide, has built manufacturing bases in Thailand and Poland and a marketing center in Germany.