Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

The 121st China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, opened on April 15 at Guangzhou Pazhou International Convention and Exhibition Center, attracting attendees from Road and Belt countries seeking business opportunities.

The fair is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of PRC and the People's Government of Guangdong Province and has been held in Guangzhou every spring and autumn since 1957.

The biannual Canton Fair opens in Guangzhou on April 15, attended by more than 24,000 enterprises from home and abroad. [Photo / Zhuhai Daily]

A total of more than 24,000 enterprises from home and abroad will take part in the fair's three phases for business cooperation, including 364 from countries along the Belt and Road such as Uzbekistan and Bangladesh.

Zhuhai led a group of 176 enterprises to showcase their latest products and technologies at the fair including Zhuhai Gree Appliances and Jinpin Electrical.

Gree is a Chinese major appliance manufacturer headquartered in Xiangzhou District. The company displayed more than 100 products from its self-owned brands – Gree, Kinghome and Tosot.

At its booth, Gree unveiled its self-developed washing machine which had attracted attention before its launch due to its quietness and convenience brought about by intelligent technologies.

Gree Electric Appliances has a high profile at the fair, displaying their latest self-developed products including a silent washing machine. [Photo by PengSen / Xinhua]

Also in the limelight was their smart home control system in which allows users to control all products via Gree+ App.

According to Chen Zhi'an, vice-general manager of the Overseas Sales Department at Gree, the company saw an increase of 30 percent in overseas sales in the first quarter.

Zhuhai Ltech Tecnology, another Xiangzhou-based company took part in the exhibition for the first time. As China's first manufacturer of LED light controllers, the company displayed its latest lighting products which achieve a wide dimming range of 0.1 to 100 percent without disruption.

The company's foreign trade manager Wang Fang said they hope to promote their brands and find new clients at the fair.

"This year, Zhuhai's imports and exports show good momentum but is still faced by lots of uncertainties under severe foreign trade situations," said FengLizhen, chief of Foreign Trade Promoting Department at Zhuhai Municipal Bureau of Commerce. More specific supporting policies will be issued to encourage independent innovation for a new stage of foreign trade development.

A Gree exhibitor introduces how their self-developed second generation mobile phone controls the smart home systems. [Photo by PengSen / Xinhua]

According to statistics published by the General Administration of Customs of PRC, China's commodity import and export volume hit $6.2 trillion this quarter, up 21.8 percent over the same period of last year, and also achieved positive year-on-year growth for a consecutive three quarters, which shows good signs.

"However, we should work very hard to maintain the stable and good momentum as our traditional advantages in foreign trade is being weakened due to rising costs," said Xu Bing, spokesperson for the fair.

Developing intellectual property rights, an important step to overcome the difficulties, is the key to sell more Chinese products to other countries, as Chen Wanling, director of the research center of international economics and trade at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies suggests.