African buyers are gathering at the 136th China Import and Export Fair, popularly known as the Canton Fair, in south China’s Guangzhou, drawn by competitive pricing and high-quality Chinese products, while exploring new business opportunities that they can take back to their home countries.
Themed "Serving high-quality development, Promoting high-level opening-up", the latest edition of the long-running trade show is running in three phases from Oct. 15 through to Nov. 4, and features more than 30,000 exhibitors showcasing 1.15 million new products.
As Africa's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, China has long been favored by African businesses, and the Canton Fair has been serving as a key platform to facilitate this relationship. On average, the past five editions of the Canton Fair have welcomed around 14,000 African buyers to visit on-site, with around 95,000 participating online.
Among the many attendees is Nigerian architect Fadillah, who is visiting the fair for the first time. In the past, she had to coordinate with third-party suppliers to buy products from the fair, but visiting in person allowed her get an up-close look at the many products on offer and access a wider selection.
"It's better for me to see. I prefer to see, and touch, and feel [the products], then I collect contacts, and I buy. I do business with them," she said.
As she surveyed many of the eye-catching ‘Made-in-China’ items which are taking center stage at the fair, Fadillah said she especially values the design and quality of the Chinese products on display.
"I think it's the concept, it’s different. There's something about it (that) is different. The design and the texture, the feel, the material," she said.
She said her experience at the Canton Fair has far exceeded her expectations, even rating it ‘100 out of 100,’ and saying she has gained many valuable business connections and contacts.
"When I came, I was very impressed. And I was very happy to be here because I'm making contact, I'm getting to meet people, getting to see ideas I've never thought of. So it's giving me opportunities, sort of like [how to] create businesses even back home," said Fadillah.
Another first-time visitor from Nigeria, a buyer named Aldine, also hailed the vast market potential and favorable prices available.
"The prices, individually, they are actually fair. Compared to, if you have to buy from Europe, it's cheaper to buy from China," said Aldine.
Inspired by what she has seen at the fair, she said she hopes her home country can also seize more opportunities wishing that her country can expand trade with China, and foster better development.
"Personally, I want to see my country grow, like (how) China is growing. So if (trade) is open my people will get (more) work, jobs to do, you understand, and then strengthen our cooperation between the Chinese government and Nigerian government," she said.
Launched in 1957 and held twice yearly, the Canton Fair is considered a major gauge of China's foreign trade, as it not only brings together new products, technologies, and services, but also serves as a platform for the exchange of new ideas.
African buyers eye up Chinese products at Canton Fair
Major breakthroughs by Chinese scientists have laid the foundation for a future where space-based solar power stations are capable of wirelessly transmitting energy to Earth and spacecraft, though significant engineering problems remain.
A research team from Xidian University in northwest China's Shaanxi Province has made significant progress on the Sun Chasing project, or "Zhuri" in Chinese. The team has developed a ground-based test system for wireless power transmission that can charge multiple moving targets at the same time.
In recent tests, the system achieved a wireless power transmission efficiency of 20.8 percent from direct current to direct current over a distance of 100 meters. It delivered 1,180 watts of power. The team has also built a wireless charging system for drones. In a test, a drone flying at 30 kilometers per hour was able to receive 143 watts of stable power from 30 meters away.
A space solar power station works exactly as its name suggests: a huge array of solar panels placed in orbit. It would collect sunlight in space, where the sun always shines, and then convert that energy into microwaves or lasers to beam down to Earth or directly to satellites and spacecraft. This could address two significant issues: supplying uninterrupted power for space missions and alleviating energy shortages on the ground.
"The construction of space solar power stations could become a major undertaking in the future. One potential benefit is access to a virtually unlimited power supply. Because energy can be collected continuously in space 24 hours a day, electricity could be supplied on an uninterrupted basis," said Fan Guanheng, an associate professor at the School of Mechano-Electronic Engineering at Xidian University.
"Secondly, it could reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, thereby lowering carbon emissions and helping protect the environment. Thirdly, it could support the development of charging infrastructure in space and enable wireless microwave charging for spacecraft, changing the way power is supplied to space vehicles," the professor added.
In 2018, the research team launched the first phase of the Sun Chasing project to build a ground test system. By June 2022, they had completed the world's first full-link, full-system ground validation system for a space solar power station. Now, the team has moved to phase two. The goal now is to solve the challenges of generating high power in space and transmitting it efficiently over long distances.
According to Duan Baoyan, an expert at Xidian University and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, recent breakthroughs include improving the efficiency of solar energy collection and conversion, increasing the precision of microwave beam control to reduce energy loss, and making the transmitting and receiving antennas smaller and lighter, which is critical for space application.
The team has also solved the problem of how to power multiple moving targets at once using a single transmitter. This means that in the future, one space power station could potentially supply electricity to several satellites or ground vehicles at the same time, Duan said.
Despite the advances in ground-based validation, a series of technical challenges must still be overcome before the technology can be deployed in space.
"The first issue that needs to be addressed is the adaptability of components to the space environment, as conditions in space are completely different from those on Earth, including radiation exposure and extreme temperatures. Another challenge involves the deployment and retraction design of transmitting and receiving antennas. We also need to develop thermal management systems to cope with extreme temperatures and temperature fluctuations in space. These are all areas where further breakthroughs are needed," said Qian Sihao, an associate professor at the School of Mechano-Electronic Engineering at Xidian University.
"We have now completed the development and validation of a ground-based test system, and our next step is to carry out in-orbit wireless microwave power transmission," Fan said.
With ground validation complete, the team now turns its attention to overcoming the harsh realities of space, aiming to demonstrate in-orbit wireless power transmission and bring the vision of orbital solar energy closer to reality.
Space-to-earth solar power moves closer to reality although hurdles remain: scientists
