Key trade exhibition goes virtual

As a complement to the twice-yearly China Import and Export Fair, known as the Canton Fair, the Internet site e-cantonfair.com will offer services to all global buyers during its spring session that starts on Tuesday, a senior company manager said.

The service "will be of great importance to boosting Chinese exporters' presence in the international trade market and helping upgrade the traditional fair's service to a higher online level," said Zhang Liang, vice-president of the Canton Fair E-Commerce Co.

The online trade service, launched during the spring session last year, was previously reserved for global buyers registered with the fair, according to Zhang.

"Given uncertain global trade conditions, a more efficient trade channel and an online promotion platform will help Chinese exporters secure more overseas orders," Zhang said.

The fair is in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.

Ahead of the opening, the e-commerce company organized promotional events in more than 20 countries and regions, especially in emerging economies, to attract more global buyers to join the fair's online service, according to Zhang.

Su Jiatao, operations manager of the e-commerce company, said information about Chinese exporters registered with the fair was promoted by using major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing and some overseas online communities, including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

"Information about registered exporters will also be open to all global buyers, helping greatly to increase the efficiency of trade and boost buyers' interest," Su said.

According to Su, the company will provide more than 100 self-service terminals and 300 mobile tablets at the fair to allow buyers better access to information about Chinese exporters.

Since being launched in 1957, the biannual Canton Fair, the county's largest trade event, has been seen as a barometer of China's foreign trade.

Each session attracts more than 24,000 domestic and overseas exhibitors and about 210,000 global buyers.

Liu Jianjun, spokesman for the China Import and Export Fair, said the e-commerce platform will help promote the fair's service to domestic and overseas exhibitors and buyers.

The value of transactions in the autumn session dropped 10.9 percent from the spring session to 194.6 billion yuan ($31.7 billion) mainly because of unstable global market demand and industrial competition.

"Booming e-commerce has also brought about huge challenges to the traditional trade models, such as the Canton Fair," Liu said.

The value of China's cross-border e-commerce, which is forecast to account for 20 percent of the country's total trade by 2016, will grow about 25 to 30 percent each year from 2013 to 2016, according to Liu.

"The e-commerce platform, which provides efficient online matchmaking services for domestic exporters and global buyers, is a major supplement to the traditional fair," Liu said.

The e-commerce service will help buyers and sellers transcend the limits of time and space that previously affected the fair, according to Liu.

Najah Arakkal, a buyer from India-based Provision General Trading Co, said the fair's online service is a welcome boost to efficiency.

"I looked for information on the e-commerce website since it was my first visit to the Canton Fair last year. I reached deals with a Chinese supplier after getting information online and visiting the supplier's factory," he said.