Smart products steal limelight at Canton Fair

Advanced manufacturing and a wave of smart exhibits are dominating the limelight, as the 139th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, opened its first phase in Guangzhou, the provincial capital of south China's Guangdong, on Wednesday.

This edition of the biannual Canton Fair goes beyond traditional categories such as electronics and home appliances, and adds four new sections dedicated to consumer drones, smart wearables, display technologies and agricultural drones.

Emergency-use lighting drones and autonomous cleaning drones have drawn strong interest from buyers and media, while the smart wearables zone has featured products ranging from smart rings to multifunctional AI goggles.

Leading firms in sections of display technology and agricultural drones are also demonstrating how smart solutions are reshaping people's everyday life and modern farming.

More than 11,000 enterprises, rated as "champions of specialized and sophisticated technology applications for producing novel and unique products," are taking part in this edition of the Canton Fair, with over half of them registered for the first phase.

Exhibitors are also adopting creative ways to engage buyers, from drone delivery of coffee and other drinks to roaming of robots on aisles for direct interaction, which underscores how AI and smart technology are finding practical applications in business.

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.

The first phase of the 139th edition of the Canton Fair is scheduled to run from April 15 to 19.

Smart products steal limelight at Canton Fair

The U.S. military on Wednesday conducted a new round of strikes against Iran, U.S. Central Command said.

"At 3 p.m. ET (1900 GMT), U.S. forces launched operations for a second wave of strikes today against Iran," the command wrote in a post on X. "The strikes are targeting Iranian military capabilities used to threaten vessels freely transiting through the Strait of Hormuz."

Earlier on Wednesday, the command said that it had begun launching a wave of strikes against Iran at 6 a.m. Eastern Time (1000 GMT). During the 90-minute wave, the forces launched precision munitions against coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island.

On Tuesday, the United States conducted a series of strikes against Iran after resuming a naval blockade of its ports in the strait.

Late Tuesday, the U.S. military said it had hit dozens of military targets, including missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, and coastal defense systems, near the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian coastal areas in strikes lasting seven hours.

U.S. launches second wave of Wednesday strikes against Iran