Overseas buyers at the ongoing 140th Canton Fair in Guangzhou City, south China's Guangdong Province, have adopted a new sourcing routine: scouting booths first and then touring factories, completing market surveys and production line inspections in quick succession to shorten procurement cycles.
At the fair's service robot zone, Russian buyer Azat came to source automated equipment. Instead of placing immediate orders, he visited multiple booths offering similar products to compare models and map out the market.
"The fair gives me a broad overview, and I can view many product models at once and survey the whole market. But only through factory visits can I go deeper and see how products are manufactured," said Azat.
After screening products at the exhibition hall, Azat toured the workshop of a robotics firm in Guangzhou's Panyu District to observe the manufacturing process firsthand.
"Honestly, we appreciate the openness of Chinese companies for showing us their internal operations. We are evaluating which technologies and products we can introduce," he said.
Azat is among a growing number of foreign buyers who head straight to manufacturers after checking exhibits and identifying preliminary interests.
"We have hosted about 10 groups of overseas visitors recently. Almost all clients want to see our industrial sites. They are eager to learn about our actual production operations," said Ma Chenchen, head of a participating company.
For exhibitors, factory visits mark a major leap in trust. While booths display only samples, workshops showcase full production lines, quality control systems, and delivery capacity. This reassures overseas buyers and greatly improves the chances of closing deals, turning preliminary interest into firm orders.
"Roughly 80 percent of our clients come from the Canton Fair. We welcome two to three groups of visitors daily and provide shuttle service from the fair, a roughly 30-minute trip. We landed export orders of over 1 million yuan just yesterday," said Song Shixiang, head of another participating company.
"We run four factories in Guangzhou's Baiyun District, a 30‑40‑minute drive from the fairground. We have five or six vehicles ready to shuttle more than a dozen groups of guests to our plants daily," said a third exhibitor.
Foreign buyers adopt "fair first, factory next" sourcing strategy at Canton Fair
China firmly opposes the illicit use of drones for non-peaceful purposes and strongly supports Chinese companies in conducting lawful international civil drone trade and cooperation, a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said Monday when asked about the country's latest drone export control measures.
In accordance with the Export Control Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws and regulations, the Ministry of Commerce, in coordination with other relevant departments, issued an announcement on Oct. 19 regarding the optimization and adjustment of export control measures for certain drone-related items.
The measures will take effect on Nov. 18, and China has already notified countries and regions with which it has established export control dialogue mechanisms, according to the spokesperson.
The affected items possess obvious dual-use characteristics, and China's lawful adjustments aim to safeguard national security and interests and fulfill non-proliferation and other international obligations, said the spokesperson. At the same time, China is committed to maintaining security and stability of global industrial and supply chains, and will review export license applications in accordance with the law and approve those that meet relevant requirements, the spokesperson said.
Dynamic adjustment of export control measures is an international common practice, said the spokesperson, adding that in recent years, rapid global development in drone technology has turned some previously advanced products into common consumer goods, and China optimized its measures to reflect the latest industrial and technological landscape based on industry feedback and careful evaluation.
This optimization and adjustment of export control measures for drones is based on the latest industry and technological developments reported by the industry, and fully demonstrates China's firm opposition to the misuse of drones for non-peaceful purposes and its strong support for Chinese enterprises engaged in lawful international civil drone trade and cooperation, according to the spokesperson.
China stands ready to communicate with relevant parties through bilateral export control dialogue mechanisms, listen to opinions and suggestions, further fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation, and actively promote and facilitate compliant trade, the spokesperson noted.
China firmly opposes illicit use of drones for non-peaceful purposes: commerce ministry
