On April 15, the first day of the 135th Canton Fair, GDToday of Nanfang Media Group held a story-sharing session themed "Exploring the Future" at the Canton Fair Complex.

During the event, 60 guests including Chinese and foreign buyers, exhibitors, representatives of foreign chambers of commerce, and reporters from domestic and foreign media, gathered to share their Canton Fair experiences, and seek opportunities for cooperation.

"For us this edition of the Fair is also important because we would like to illustrate the (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao) Greater Bay Area project, now GBA, to our customers," Umberto Naddei, member of Italian Chamber of Commerce and the CEO of China Noi Group, said during his sharing.

"I hope that this edition, thanks to the 'simple' visa policy, will be able to count on a greater number of Western customers," said Naddei. Under the new visa-free policy, with a trial period from Dec 1, 2023 to Nov 30, 2024, ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia are able to enjoy visa-free entry into China for a stay up to 15 days.

Benjamin King, founder and CEO of Kinyu Supply Chain Management shared his experience and said that doing business in China is about relationships and people.

"Many companies travel to China, and to the Canton Fair to look for new products. But the most important aspect of Canton Fair is the people," he said, "Find the right partner, make sure you communicate well with them, and build a strong personal relationship, and then the business will flow smoothly." 

Despite absence in several editions of the Canton Fair in the last few years, Frangelica Liang, member of BritCham Committee, was surprised by what she saw today. "I was amazed this morning when I watched GDToday's live interview in the fair, seeing an amazing range of high-end manufacturing products, from consumer electronics, industrial manufacturing, hardware tools, to AI-equipped high-tech healthcare facilities, new energy vehicles, smart transportation, all showcasing the new page of China's manufacturing in high-end fields."  

She believes the 135th Canton Fair will embark on a new journey for global trade and manufacturing industry.

The first day of the Canton Fair saw a bustling scene of overseas buyers coming together to find the best products and suppliers. As of 5 pm on April 15, more than 60,000 overseas buyers from 205 countries and regions worldwide attended the offline Fair, an increase of 18.5 percent compared to the previous session.