More than 150 foreign diplomats in China on Monday visited a special exhibition commemorating the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March.
The exhibition is being staged at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing.
The diplomats in attendance expressed deep admiration for the resilience and determination demonstrated during the historic journey.
"To be honest, it's a very inspiring place to be that despite all the difficulty, despite all the challenges, how they came up against all odds, it only shows that what all human beings can do," said Syed Ali Asad Gillani, Pakistani Ambassador to China.
"The Long March is still one of the greatest, I think,in the history of the red army for the CPC and Chinese people in the modern time, in the modern history. It's still alive today in terms of spirit, in terms of sacrifice, in terms of unity, in terms of solidarity, of the Chinese people," said Somphone Sichaleune, Lao Ambassador to China.
The exhibition also serves as a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made for the Chinese revolution.
"This exhibition is a great inspiration. There is a great commitment of keeping in mind the history of the Chinese revolution," said Alberto Blanco Silva, Cuban Ambassador to China.
"It shows a real essence of courage, determination, perseverance during this period. This is reflected through China's commitment to see through its development path," said Luamanuvae Albert Mariner, Samoan Ambassador to China.
The Long March (1934-1936) was a military maneuver by the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army that later became a defining episode in modern Chinese history, symbolizing endurance and perseverance as the poorly armed soldiers crossed some of the country's harshest terrain, enduring hunger, thirst and cold, to establish a new revolutionary base. The official record of the Long March made by the First Front Army of the Red Army was 12,500 km, which took it one year from 1934-1935. Two other front armies of the Red Army, the second and the fourth, started the journey later, took different routes, and completed the march in 1936.
Diplomats see spirit of Long March in China's commitment to its development path
Global buyers are converging on the ongoing 140th China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, where competing suppliers gathered under one roof allow them to compare products, quality and prices side by side, with many extending their trips beyond the exhibition halls to the factory floors that ring the city.
Also known as the Canton Fair, the biannual event is China's largest and longest-running comprehensive trade fair and a widely watched barometer of the country's foreign trade.
For the buyers streaming through the bustling halls, the fair's value lies in that concentration, the ability to move between countless suppliers in a single space and weigh offers directly against one another.
"The beauty about Canton Fair is all these different suppliers are all together. So you can go from one supplier to another, to another. Compare their products, quality as well as price, and you put them all together and then you make a decision. Makes it absolutely fantastic. We would like to come again and again and again. Once you come to China once, you will come many times. Next year, we will be here again," said Humphrey Muturi, a buyer from Kenya.
The sourcing journey often continues well beyond the exhibition venue, as Guangzhou sits in the Pearl River Delta, one of China's manufacturing heartlands, where many factories lie just an hour's drive from the fairgrounds.
Buyers frequently take the opportunity to visit production sites in person, where they can observe assembly lines in operation and see the manufacturing process up close.
"Once you go to one company, you get to learn all the manufactured items, you go to the next, you can compare how they operate. You can come to [understand and learn critical information], you can ask them questions and interact, and give them the specification that you are looking for. And they help very fast," said Titus Muthomi, another buyer from Kenya.
That direct access is backed by China's complete industrial chain and stable manufacturing capability, which enable suppliers to offer full-package solutions and customized services to overseas buyers, rather than one-off sales.
Canton Fair puts China's entire supply chain within global buyers' reach
