(Yicai Global) April 14 -- The 131st China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, will kick off online tomorrow with buyers from more than 220 countries and nations perusing the virtual display areas which boast the most-ever new product and low-carbon exhibits.

Running until April 24, the biannual fair that is now in its 65th year will lure 25,500 Chinese and overseas exhibitors and feature more than 2.9 million online exhibits, spokesperson Xu Bing said today. Of these, 900,000 will be of new products and 480,000 of green goods. Exhibitors will be not be charged any fees.

The event, which first went online in 2020, is regarded as a weathercock of China’s foreign trade. Twenty leading global retail groups including France’s Auchan, Finland’s Kesko Corp., Spain’s Taurus Group and Indonesia’s Kawan Lama Group have organized over 400 procurement professionals with long shopping lists.

Organizers have invited more than 14,000 e-commerce platforms and supply chain procurers such as JD.com, VIP.com and NetEase Yanxuan as well as bulk buyers from over 7,000 supermarkets, department stores and retail chains, not to mention more than 30,000 import and export traders to help China’s exporters communicate with local companies online, Xu said.

The Canton Fair will also serve as a platform for the implementation of the world’s largest trade pact, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which came into effect for 10 member countries on Jan. 1 this year. It has inked cooperation agreements with the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vietnam’s China Business Association and the ASEAN Furniture Industries Council, all of which belong to RCEP member nations. And 40 of the event’s 170 global partners are part of RCEP.

Thirty-three Chinese trade delegations, more than 50 industrial clusters and over 500 companies have also signed up for trade-related events.

Starting in 1957, the fair is China’s largest international trade event with the longest history, most exhibition categories and most buyers. When it is not held online, it is held in Guangzhou, southern Guangdong province every spring and autumn.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Kim Taylor