The ongoing 137th China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as Canton Fair, kicked off its second phase on Wednesday, showcasing an extensive range of home life products.
The five-day second phase emphasizes "quality home life," featuring sections dedicated to building and decorative materials, home decorations, and gifts, catering to the diversified demands of global buyers seeking related exquisite products.
Over 167,000 products will be shown during the second phase, making it the most extensive collection among the fair's three phases.
"That's the first time that I'm here. Very good. It's a huge amount of variety, and virtually every vendor is here and also the vendors that we want to talk to. It's very well organized. I mean, great facilities," said a Canadian buyer.
Chinese service robots caught the spotlight during the just-concluded first phase, impressing customers with advanced technologies and functions and generating substantial orders for exhibiting companies.
"This part of the fair is amazing, because I have never seen in person a robot like this and it's impressive. I am here seeing the future," said a Venezuelan buyer.
The Canton Fair's first phase, which concluded on Saturday, attracted over 148,000 overseas buyers from 216 countries and regions, marking a 20.2 percent increase compared to last year.
The 137th fair is divided into three phases: the first, running from April 15-19, focuses on advanced manufacturing; the second, from April 23-27, focuses on quality home furnishings; and the third, from May 1-5, on products that promote a better quality of life.
The Canton Fair spans 1.55 million square meters of exhibition areas, with about 74,000 booths, including nearly 73,000 for exports and about 1,600 for imports.
Established in 1957, the Canton Fair is held twice a year in Guangzhou. It is the longest-running of several comprehensive international trade events in China and has been hailed as the barometer of China's foreign trade.
137th Canton Fair opens 2nd phase, showcasing home life products
The 10th China-Russia Expo opened on Sunday in Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang in northeast China, highlighting the resilience, vitality and mutual benefits of China-Russia economic ties.
Held from May 17 to 21, this year's expo covers a floor space of 55,000 square meters, with more than 1,500 companies from 46 countries and regions taking part. Nearly 300 Russian companies are attending, while over 5,000 buyers are expected.
Since 2014, the event has attracted more than 7,200 Chinese and Russian companies and over a million visitors.
The China-Russia Expo is the largest comprehensive exhibition platform between the two countries.
President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin each sent congratulatory letters to the event, encouraging all sectors from both countries to seize the opportunity, make full use of their geographical proximity and economic complementarity, and further expand all-round practical cooperation.
"Leaders of the two countries have signed agreements to deepen practical cooperation, which we fully support. Russia and China stand side by side for common development, benefiting young people and all people. Such cooperation is timely and far-reaching. We are here in Harbin for the China-Russia Expo, coming from Russia's Sakha Republic. Our region is dominated by agriculture. We are seeking advanced farming technologies including irrigation equipment and harvesters. We hope to reach deals in the coming days to boost local development," said Vasiliy Petrovich Alexeev, head of Ust-Aidan Region of the Russian Federation.
"We are greatly inspired by the congratulatory letters from the heads of state of China and Russia. We will keep building targeted and efficient cooperation platforms, and smooth channels for sub-national exchanges between China and Russia," said Chen Shijun, president of Heilongjiang Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
China-Russia trade volume has surpassed 200 billion U.S. dollars for three consecutive years. China has been Russia's largest trading partner for 16 years running.
In the first quarter of this year, bilateral trade volume hit 60 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of more than 14 percent.
This year's Expo features eight major exhibition zones. Beyond the exhibition halls, Russian delegations have also conducted field visits to Chinese companies. A delegation from the Republic of Buryatia visited one of northeast China's largest building materials distribution centers to explore potential areas of cooperation.
"Regular China-Russia economic and trade events continuously bring fresh cooperation opportunities for both sides. This field trip to Xilong Building Materials Market has helped us explore more practical directions and modes for bilateral cooperation," said Alexei Tsydenov, head of the Republic of Buryatia of the Russian Federation.
"Relying on Buryatia's abundant mineral resources and sound logistics conditions, we plan to build industrial parks focusing on home building materials, mineral resources and energy sectors in Russia. We will introduce advanced Chinese technologies and management models to drive coordinated industrial upgrading between the two countries," said Wu Jinrong, vice president of Harbin Xilong International Trade and Logistics Park.
From everyday consumer goods to advanced helicopters, and from mineral resources to intelligent robotics, China-Russia cooperation now spans a wide range of sectors. Economic ties and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries continue to advance toward higher-quality development and broader prospects.
China-Russia Expo promotes trust, cooperation, mutual benefit
