The 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, will be held in three phases from April 15 to May 5 in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, with its online platform continuing to support business interactions, the China Foreign Trade Center (CFTC) announced on Wednesday.
The exhibition will cover an area of 1.55 million square meters, featuring approximately 74,000 booths and around 31,000 participating companies.
Of these, nearly 73,000 booths will be dedicated to export-related displays, with the number of participating companies surpassing 30,000 for the first time, an increase of nearly 900 compared to the previous fair.
The international pavilion, a platform for companies outside China, will feature about 1,600 booths, with 736 companies from 50 countries and regions, remaining largely unchanged from the last fair.
The three phases of the fair will focus on advanced manufacturing, quality home furnishings, and products that enhance quality of life, with 172 product zones across 55 exhibition areas.
For the first time, a special zone for service robots will be added in the first phase to focus on the latest achievements of China's AI development. "This Canton Fair aims to achieve a higher level of diversity in the origins of buyers, helping companies expand into international markets. At the same time, we will invite the world's top 250 retailers and leading industry players, optimizing the structure and quality of foreign buyers attending the fair," said Zhang Sihong, deputy director of the CFTC under China's Commerce Ministry.
Additionally, to better serve exhibitors and buyers, the fair will feature over 1,000 trade promotion events and introduce upgraded apps for buyers and suppliers. These new versions will enhance service packages, improve the "trade matching" system, and boost both matching efficiency and accuracy.
China to host 137th Canton Fair in Guangzhou from April to May
China to host 137th Canton Fair in Guangzhou from April to May
From cutting-edge technology exhibitions to retail stores thousands of kilometers away from Europe and Southeast Asia, China-made robot vacuum cleaners are increasingly becoming a popular choice among consumers worldwide.
At electronics retailers in Berlin, Germany, Chinese brands such as Roborock and Dreame occupy prominent positions in dedicated robot vacuum sections, offering a wide range of products priced between 200 and 2,000 euros.
Many local consumers said that when purchasing smart home appliances including robot vacuum cleaners, they tend to give priority to Chinese-made products.
"It's a good price and good quality. It's also the innovation. I have a feeling that the European brands are not innovating enough," said one customer.
"I think they're always on top of the other technologies. They are getting them out faster. A lot of us are switching to the Chinese technology," another consumer said.
Germany is one of the most important overseas markets for China's floor-cleaning robots.
According to data from market research firm GfK, from January to November 2025, more than six out of 10 robot vacuum cleaners sold in Western Europe were Chinese brands.
Industry data also point to a strong global momentum.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), global shipments of smart robot vacuum cleaners reached 17.424 million units in the first three quarters of 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.7 percent.
Chinese brands including Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Xiaomi and Narwal ranked among the world's top five in terms of shipment volume, with a combined share of nearly 70 percent of the global market.
At a robot vacuum cleaner manufacturing plant in Huizhou, south China's Guangdong Province, workers were seen stepping up production of newly launched models that recently debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in the United States, which concluded Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The factory adjusted its production lines as early as December 2025 and stocked inventory in advance for overseas markets to ensure that new products could be delivered to global consumers at the earliest possible time.
"In 2025, Roborock's global shipments exceeded 7.2 million units. Since 2024, overseas revenue has accounted for more than 50 percent of our total revenue. Our products have now been sold to more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than 20 million households worldwide," said Quan Gang, president of Roborock.
At another robot vacuum cleaner manufacturing facility in Dongguan, Guangdong, rising overseas orders have prompted the company to upgrade its production lines with intelligent technologies to further boost capacity. The factory is currently operating at full load to meet a growing demand.
"For 2026, we have already obtained overseas orders worth at least 300 million to 400 million yuan (around 43 million to 57.3 million U.S. dollars). In addition, we've engaged in strategic cooperation with European home appliance group Cebos Group, and our total confirmed orders have exceeded 600 million yuan (around 86 million U.S. dollars)," said Zhang Junbin, founder and CEO of Narwal Robotics.
Chinese robot vacuum brands gain strong global traction
