(ECNS) -- The Canton Fair's global partnership network now spans 112 countries and regions and includes 238 overseas business associations, industry organizations and leading buyers that have signed cooperation agreements, according to the 140th Canton Fair.
Over the past 70 years, the number of buyers attending the fair has grown from 1,200 to more than 300,000 this year, with attendees coming from more than 220 countries and regions.
The fair's exhibits have evolved from agricultural and sideline products in the 1960s and 1970s to light industrial and electromechanical products in the 1980s and 1990s, and now to embodied intelligence, smart healthcare, new energy vehicles and new energy storage, reflecting advances in China's manufacturing sector.
Overseas buyers watch a Chinese company's intelligent machinery in action at the 140th Canton Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, on Oct. 16, 2026. (Photo: China News Service/Cheng Jingwei)
Robotics and new energy vehicle exhibition areas have drawn large crowds at this year's fair. Robotic exoskeletons developed by Chinese companies have helped buyers with disabilities from Malaysia, the UK and elsewhere stand up from their wheelchairs, walk and even climb stairs.
Zhu Yong, director of the China Foreign Trade Centre (CFTC), said the fair offers up-to-date insights into global customer demand, consumer preferences, industry trends, product standards and application scenarios.
Zhou Mi, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, said trust built through the Canton Fair has helped China and its trading partners expand trade and improve liquidity, especially amid rising trade protectionism and global supply chain restructuring.
Nearly 20% of the more than 30,000 exhibitors at this year's fair have made overseas investments, creating more than 200,000 jobs in host markets.
The Canton Fair has shifted from being export-oriented to promoting both exports and imports. The second and third phases of this year's fair will feature dedicated exhibition areas for imports to help foreign companies enter the Chinese market.
China's imports have ranked second globally for 17 consecutive years, reaching 18.5 trillion yuan (about $2.74 trillion) last year. In the first three quarters of this year, imports rose 22.3% year on year.
Zhou said China's continued expansion of market access and tariff reductions have increased both the volume and variety of imports, creating more opportunities for other countries to share in China's development.
(By Tang Yuxian)
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