• 500-drone show lights up China's largest trade fair

    Jun 17, 2020

    (ECNS) -- 500 drones illuminated the night sky during the 127th China Import and Export Fair held in south China's Guangdong Province on Monday.   The China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is bracing for a new form of online exhibition this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.   The fair kicked off on June 15 and will last for 10 days.

  • China's largest trade fair goes online as coronavirus shuts doors

    Jun 17, 2020

    SHANGHAI/GUANGZHOU/HONG KONG -- China's biggest import and export fair started on Monday in some of the strangest of circumstances of its six decades -- in a digital format and minus physical visitors.   Canton Import and Export Fair has been a semiannual diary fixture for businesses across the region since 1957, drawing hundreds of thousands of international visitors to the southern city of Guangzhou, the crucible of China's reform-era industrial transformation. Producers of everything from food products to solar panels use it as a chance to make contacts and strike deals with existing or potential customers.   With China still severely restricting inbound travel to control the spread of the new coronavirus, this 127th incarnation of the fair represents an experiment to see if visitors will still flock to meet and greet industry peers and make deals even without a chance to touch products.   Rather then turn up in Guangzhou, nearly 26,000 exhibitors are displaying their goods on a Canton Fair website under categories including electrical appliances, chemical products, medical devices and food.   Over 8,000 are using live-streaming video to showcase their wares: Chinese internet operator Tencent Holdings is the provider of the fair's infrastructure, which includes cloud computing and artificial intelligence.   Those logging onto the Canton Fair website can click buttons to send messages to companies they are interested in or to schedule chats.   The fair comes as businesses around the world are feeling the strain of months of interrupted trade and crashing economies.   "We have no choice but to grab onto whatever means to sell," said Christine Ng, chief executive of Malaysia's Ecel World Trade. But Ng, whose company offering food supplements and hair tonic has been participating in the fair for years, said she was not hopeful of making many deals at the event.   Zaimah Osman, a Malaysian trade official in Guangzhou, said some exhibitors from her country had pulled out due to uncertainties arising from the online platform.   "Without the usual face-to-face negotiation, exhibitors said they are unsure how a deal can be done," she said. "(But) we hope the online platform can reach out to more people."   A lack of face-to-face interactions is not stopping some Chinese manufacturers from demonstrating their offerings. Instead, it has motivated many factories to take their sales pitch to the next level.    One towel maker, for instance, washed his hair in front of the camera in an effort to show how quickly his product could absorb water. A producer of holiday ornaments gave viewers a virtual tour of her factory, introducing dozens of different decorated Christmas trees one after another.    Inevitably there have been instances of technical hitches, with the odd livestream suddenly turning dark. At other times, exhibitors forget to turn off their microphone after a live show and accidentally leak background conversations, the sort of issue that has dogged millions of "work from home" employees during the pandemic.   While the fair may stimulate some leads, the headwinds are fierce. China's exporters are facing a trade war and other tensions with the U.S. While the Chinese economy has been showing signs of bouncing back from the pandemic-induced downturn, many other parts of the world are still in crisis mode. China's trade volume declined 5% in the first five months of the year.   The Canton Fair is held twice yearly in spring and autumn. The spring running, which was originally to open in mid-April, will continue online for 10 days.   Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong and Singapore are eyeing user appetite for online conventions and trade fairs, wondering whether their own lucrative role in hosting such events may diminish over time if attendees learn to make do with digital encounters.

  • You’ll Attend Your Next Trade Show From Your Living Room—And Why That’s Great

    Jun 17, 2020

    Your business relies on trade shows to connect with new customers or find new products—but now shows are canceled because of stay-at-home orders. A new kind of trade show, the virtual trade show, is taking its place. Here’s how to make the most of them and boost your sales.   Businessman holding trade show badge These new virtual trade shows offer even more opportunity, with fewer costs and distractions. GETTY The Trade Show Advantage   The trade show has been at the heart of trade for decades, and we all know why: They are naturally exclusive—thanks to purpose-built venues with limited space, attendance fees, and curated supply and demand—and attract a discerning, purpose-driven community of buyers and sellers. Panels tend to be interesting, entertaining, and informative, and there are excellent opportunities for networking (not to mention, expense account-cocktails). In other words, trade shows bring together all of the necessary ingredients for dynamic commerce under one roof.   This impact is proven. In fact, 55% of U.S. small- and medium-size businesses describe trade shows as their most valuable source for new B2B customers, according to a recent Alibaba.com survey of U.S.-based sellers. And 45% of small businesses describe them as the best way to encounter new ideas, learn about innovation, and find new suppliers. We hosted a recent conversation about trade shows, and two leaders of Florida-based supplements companies spoke to their importance. Daniel Rosenfield, Founder and CEO of Totally Products, said, “A very large portion of my business relies on trade shows. Trade shows got my business off the ground, and they’re still my success maker today.” Reiterating this point for his business, Diego Bavaro, Founder and CEO of Angry Supplements, emphasized, “Trade shows open businesses up to incredible opportunities both nationally and internationally. I met my biggest customer at a trade show.”   Deconstructing the Experience   All business operations ultimately come down to decisions about the allocation of capital and the return on investment of both money and time. As an entrepreneur, if you are able to allocate money and time well, growth and profits for your company are likely to follow. The gritty truth about trade shows is that while they are indisputably essential and valuable, they often come at an exceptional cost of both money and time, which is especially problematic as many businesses adapt to the new normal.

  • China a Bright Spot for U.S. in Gloomy Global Trade Picture

    Jun 17, 2020

    China has retaken its mantle as America’s largest trading partner, emerging as a rare bright spot for U.S. farmers and other exporters as the coronavirus pandemic constrains global commerce. Trade between the two nations rose to $39.7 billion in April, up nearly 43% from the month before, and enough to once again surpass Mexico and Canada. The jump followed the signing of a trade pact in January in which China agreed to sharply step up purchases of U.S. farm products and other goods.

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