The 135th session of the China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as the Canton Fair, has already drawn to it 310 international delegations from 67 other countries and regions as of May 1, highlighting the fair's popularity and the strong confidence foreign companies have in the Chinese market and products.
The session has brought together 29,000 participating enterprises from both China and other countries, with 74,000 exhibition booths. The event has been attended by 221,018 overseas purchasers from 215 other countries and regions, marking a 24.6 percent year-on-year increase as of May 1.
The 135th session of the Canton Fair runs from April 15 to May 5 in three five-day phases.
Themed as "A Better Life," the third and final phase of the 135th session of the Canton Fair runs from May 1 to May 5. A total of 21 exhibition zones in five major categories have been in place, which display commodities including toys, baby and pregnancy products, household textiles, stationery and health and leisure items.
A Turkish purchasing group of more than 40 people has arrived at the fair for business negotiations. The group's leader, Emin, highlighted the importance of the fair in accessing cutting-edge products and technologies as well as the latest trends of markets.
"A saying in Türkiye states that if a businessperson or a company does not attend the Canton Fair, it is not truly engaged in international trade. For those in the international business sector, attending the fair is crucial for understanding the Chinese market," said Emin.
The Canton Fair represents one of the grandest events on the global trade calendar. Since 1957 when its first edition took place in Guangzhou China, this biannual fair has expanded into an enormous platform for both imports and exports from across industries - featuring products from numerous sectors every spring and autumn respectively.
Canton Fair draws 310 international delegations with cutting-edge Chinese products
Leaders of Arab countries called for an early ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and reached consensus on the implementation of the two-state solution at the 33rd Arab League Summit in Manama, the capital of Bahrain.
Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa chaired the summit, which covers regional political, economic, social, cultural, media and security topics
Noting that the summit was held in an extremely complex regional and international environment, Bahrain's King said that Arab states need to have a unified position, adopt the approach to solve the problem through dialogue, and unite together to end the bloodshed of war and achieve a lasting and just peace.
Hamad also supported the full recognition of the State of Palestine and its acceptance as a full member of the United Nations, saying that an independent State of Palestine will be a boon to the entire region.
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, said that Israel's ongoing military operations in Gaza have caused huge casualties, and certain Western countries, as Israel's allies, continue to provide political support for this "war."
In the Bahrain Declaration issued after the conclusion of the summit, participating countries agreed to work together to stop Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip and end humanitarian disaster suffered by the Palestinian people.
The declaration also rejected any attempts to forcibly displace the Palestinian people from their land in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and called for a just and comprehensive peace solution.
It supported Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's call to convene an international peace conference and take irreversible steps to implement the two-state solution in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and UN resolutions.
The declaration also said that the Arab foreign ministers will continue to act to urge the international community to quickly recognize the State of Palestine and to work towards its full membership in the United Nations as an independent and fully sovereign state.
Speaking at the press conference after the summit, Gheit said that Arab countries showed "unprecedented" unity at the summit.
"The day before yesterday, foreign ministers or ministers of state of 21 out of 22 Arab countries attended [the diplomatic preparatory meeting for the summit], which hardly happened before. At today's summit, we also saw the broad participation of Arab leaders," said Gheit.
The summit was also attended by representatives of countries and international organizations outside the Arab League.
During the summit, leaders of Arab League member states, including the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the King of Jordan King Abdulla II Ibn Al Hussein, and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, discussed regional and international hotspot issues.
Arab leaders call for early ceasefire in Gaza
