(Yicai Global) Oct. 14 -- Chinese buyers will be in attendance at the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, for the first time in its 64 years when the event kicks off tomorrow, according to its secretary-general.

The 130th Canton Fair will be held both offline and online through Oct. 19, Chu Shijia, who is also the trade fair’s vice president, said yesterday.

The offline exhibition is held in Guangzhou and covers 400,000 square meters. Some 7,795 companies will attend in person, while about 26,000 Chinese and overseas firms will take part online. Exhibitors have uploaded a record 2.8 million items, of which 880,000 are new products.

More than 200,000 buyers will attend the offline events, and many others will buy products online, according to early expectations. The offline events of the last three fairs were canceled and moved online due to Covid-19.

Chu also said the world economy still faces the impact of the pandemic, which is not yet over, with global demand and supply chains not completely recovered. The Canton Fair aims to unblock international and domestic dual circulation and serve businesses by expanding international markets, he said.

Regarded as the wind vane of China’s foreign trade, the Canton Fair started in 1957. It is China’s biggest and most comprehensive international trade event with the longest history, most exhibition categories, and most buyers. It is held twice a year in Spring and Fall.

Editor: Futura Costaglione