The 101st session of the China Import and Export Fair, or Canton
Fair, wrapped up in Guangzhou yesterday, registering trade deals
worth a record US$36.39 billion.
The figure was 6.8 percent larger than the combined value of the
deals signed during the 100th session, which took place last
October.
Xu Bing, spokesperson of the fair, said deals for mechanical and
electrical products made up the lion's share, representing a
combined US$14.68 billion, or 40.3 percent of the total
transactions. Light industrial products, garments and textiles were
the next most active sectors for deal-making.
He said most deals were clinched with buyers from the European
Union, the United States and the Middle East. Exhibitors from Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces, as well as Shanghai, were
the most active on the Chinese side.
European Union buyers did deals worth US$12.09 billion; followed
by the United States, with US$5.41 billion; and the Middle East,
with US$4.25 billion.
The Guangdong delegation won deals worth US$9.36 billion during
the two phases. Zhejiang won US$4.96 billion; Jiangsu, US$3.8
billion; Shandong, US$3.3 billion; and Shanghai, US$1.84
billion.
The 101st session was the first in the Canton Fair's history to
include an international pavilion for import commodities. No
transaction figures were available for that portion of the
event.
Xu said the decision to include import commodities had proved
educational, and that the organizers were looking at ways to expand
their share in future sessions. However, some foreign exhibitors
said their exhibits should have been categorized more as domestic
operations.
(China Daily May 1, 2007)
