China's longest-running trade event showcases technology-driven innovations

China's longest-running trade event, the ongoing 136th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is showcasing technology-driven innovations from leading enterprises in tech research and development.

The fair kicked off Tuesday in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province. Themed "Serving high-quality development, promoting high-level opening-up," this edition of the biennial fair features more than 30,000 exhibitors showcasing 1.15 million new products.

Cutting-edge products dominate the show, including industrial robots, automatic machines, and laser equipment. Chinese manufacturers return year after year to introduce innovations even more advanced and intelligent than the previous versions.

"We are focused on the metal forming industry for shearing and bending machines. Our factory was built in 1958 and we have been joining the Canton Fair for more than 25 years," said Coco Lu, Deputy General Manager of Hubei Tri-Ring Metal-Forming Equipment.

This year's Canton Fair is presenting a diverse range of products across a sprawling 1.5 million square meters of exhibition space.

The vast majority of exhibition halls are packed with visitors and buyers, indicating the global business community is keen to engage with China.

Many exhibitors at the fair have benefited from China's policies to boost industrial optimization as the country aims to maintain an edge in a global economy that is increasingly driven by intelligent design.

"As a robotic forklift enterprise, recent national policies have significantly boosted our competitiveness overseas. Tax reductions have lowered our production costs, enabling us to allocate more resources towards independent research and development of core robotic technologies," said Ji Honglei, Chief Marketing Officer of GenSong Intelligent Technology Company.

This year's fair will be held in three phases between Oct 15 and Nov 4, with the first phase lasting five days.

Launched in 1957, the Canton Fair is the country's oldest and largest trade fair. Held every spring and autumn in Guangzhou, it is seen as a significant barometer of China's foreign trade.

China's longest-running trade event showcases technology-driven innovations

With the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war with Iran disrupting global petrochemical supply chains, Serbia's plastics industry, which is highly dependent on imported raw materials, has grappled with the dual pressure of soaring costs and supply uncertainty.

A Serbian manufacturer of pressed polyethylene and polypropylene polymer sheets said that prices of its key raw materials have surged by about 50 percent in the past two to three weeks.

Although the company maintains several months of inventory, it continues to face mounting cost pressures from rising prices of raw materials, natural gas, petroleum, and electricity. Meanwhile, logistics challenges have also emerged.

"Basically, the prices are now very high, doubled then they were like two months ago. And the second thing is supply chain. I mean the logistic and the transportation, especially these days, is too long. It's more than two months," said BWC Group CEO Slobodan Skundric.

Such impact triggered by the war has been felt across Serbia's entire chemical industry, forcing some companies to suspend acceptance of new orders to manage the market volatility.

"Prices of plastic raw materials, which are petroleum derivatives, have climbed to historically high levels, posing severe challenges to the industry's development. Serbia has a very developed plastics industry, with more than 2,600 companies engaged in plastic products manufacturing nationwide. The sector generates export revenues of 1.2 billion euros and holds strategic importance for the country. The price hikes are undoubtedly hard to the industry," said Dragan Stevanovic, secretary of the Association for Chemical, Rubber and Non-Metal Industry with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia

In response, the Serbian government has taken actions to mitigate the effects on the economy and people.

"First, the government has prohibited the export of fuel, petroleum, and their derivatives. This ban was extended a few days ago. In addition, the government has lowered certain consumption taxes to alleviate the impact of the current situation on the economy and the public," said Stevanovic.

Serbian plastic industry grapples with soaring costs, supply uncertainty amid Middle East tensions