(Yicai Global) Oct. 15 -- The 128th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, started online today. Buyers actively participated in the fair despite a worldwide economic recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, with those from more than 210 countries and regions taking part online.

The exhibition runs from today to Oct. 24, only the second online fair in its history, following the spring session in June. Exhibitors can showcase their firms and products via illustrations, videos, three-dimensions images, virtual reality or live streaming, and buyers can see products and negotiate with exhibitors online.

The fair forms a bridge between large-scale supermarkets, brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platforms in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area with foreign trade companies to advance transformation and upgrading of foreign trade firms. Exhibitors with domestic trade intentions can add a ‘Domestic Trade’ label to their online stores on the fair’s website to help the supply and purchase sides quickly match and connect with each other.

The exhibition continues to have 50 exhibition areas for 16 categories of commodities with around 60,000 booths and nearly 26,000 exhibitors, basically the same as the 127th fair, Xu Bing, the fair’s spokesperson and deputy director of the China Foreign Trade Center said.

Exhibitors had uploaded 2.4 million exhibitions online as of Oct. 13, of which 691,500 are new products.

Starting in 1957, the fair is China’s largest comprehensive international trade event with the longest history, most exhibition categories and most buyers. It is held in Guangzhou every Spring and Autumn.

Editor: Ben Armour