A visitor takes photos of an automated production line on display at the 135th session of the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, on April 16, 2024. Photo: Chi Jingyi/GT
The second phase of the 135th session of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, kicked off in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday, attracting about 10,000 domestic and international enterprises to display products such as daily consumer goods and gifts.
Observers said that the spectacular event is an epitome of China's stable and sound foreign trade. Refuting Western media outlets that bad-mouth the country's foreign trade sector and economic prospects, they said that the potential of the Chinese economy is far from peaking, since the development of new quality productive forces will bring revolutionary reform to labor productivity and inject long-lasting impetus into the economy.
With the theme of "Quality Home Furnishings," the second phase has attracted 9,820 on-site exhibitors, and 220 companies from 30 countries and regions will participate in the exhibition, according to the official website of the Canton Fair.
It's worth noting that 144 companies from 18 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) participant countries are attending the fair, accounting for about 65 percent of all foreign exhibitors.
"The sizable increase in overseas buyers during this year's Canton Fair has greatly strengthened our confidence in getting new clients and exploring new markets," Wen Ting, a manager with Shenzhen Fu Xingye Import and Export Co, said.
More overseas companies prefer to diversify their markets amid shocks including the Red Sea crisis and global supply chain adjustments.
These BRI countries are an important source of clients for us, as most of our buyers come from emerging markets, Ying Xiuzhen, president of China-Base Ningbo Foreign Trade Co, told the Global Times.
Launched in 1957 and held twice yearly, the fair is considered a major gauge of China's foreign trade. In the first quarter of the year, exports from the world's second-biggest economy rose 4.9 percent year-on-year, reaching 5.74 trillion yuan ($792.12 billion), according to the General Administration of Customs.
Analysts said that the sound performance of the country's foreign trade underscores the resilience, potential and vitality of China's economy, debunking West's claiming that "China's foreign trade winter is coming," or promoting the "Peak China" musings and other fallacies.
Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank, said that exports will continue to grow in the second quarter due to a lower base last year and macro-policies to stabilize foreign trade.
Although some Western politicians and organizations have made accusations about so-called overcapacity in China's new-energy sector, adding uncertainties to the country's foreign trade, external demand for Chinese products remains solid, Wen told the Global Times, and overall global trade is expected to gradually recover in 2024.
The WTO said in a new forecast on April 10 that the volume of world merchandise trade is expected to grow by 2.6 percent this year and 3.3 percent in 2025.
The Chinese economy's overall trend of steady, its long-term growth will not change, and the country will cultivate advantages supporting its long-term growth on the basis of achieving economic prosperity in the short term, analysts said.
"The Chinese economy is far from peaking. If China's GDP continues to grow at 4-5 percent for the next decade, it's still much faster than that of the US," He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The development of new quality productive forces - which features new technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence and new-energy vehicles - will bring revolutionary reform to labor productivity and thus higher growth rates for the world's second-largest economy, He said.
More efforts are needed to encourage independent innovations and deepen institutional reform and opening-up so as to cooperate with enterprises across the world, He said.
Conducting a tour of the booths of multiple enterprises at the Canton Fair last week, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said that the fair should play a bigger role in expanding China's high-level opening-up and promoting the building of an open world economy.
Li encouraged enterprises to continuously improve their research and development capabilities, and strive for digital, intelligent and green transformation.
He, the research fellow, expressed optimism about the future of China's foreign trade despite challenges such as US decoupling and restrictions.
"On the one hand, China's foreign trade with neighboring countries such as those in ASEAN and Russia sees stable growth. On the other hand, China's exports to developed economies like the US are gradually recovering since cooperation meets both sides' needs and supply chains are difficult to break," He said.
第135届中国进出口商品交易会（又称广交会）第二阶段周二在中国南方广东省广州市拉开帷幕，吸引了约10,000家国内外企业展示日用消费品和礼品等产品。
观察人士表示，这一壮观的盛会是中国对外贸易稳定健全的缩影。他们驳斥了西方媒体对中国外贸部门和经济前景的诋毁，称中国经济的潜力远未达到顶峰，因为新的优质生产力的发展将给劳动生产率带来革命性的改革，并为经济注入持久的动力。
根据广交会官网，第二阶段以“优质家居”为主题，吸引了9,820家现场参展商，来自30个国家和地区的220家企业将参展。
值得注意的是，来自18个“一带一路”倡议（BRI）参与国的144家公司参加了展会，约占所有外国参展商的65%。
“今年广交会期间海外买家的大幅增加大大增强了我们获得新客户和开拓新市场的信心，”深圳市福兴业进出口有限公司经理温婷说。
在红海危机和全球供应链调整等冲击下，越来越多的海外公司倾向于实现市场多元化。这些“一带一路”沿线国家是我们的重要客户来源，因为我们的大多数买家来自新兴市场，中国基地宁波外贸有限公司总裁应秀珍告诉《环球时报》。
广交会开始于1957，每年举办两次，被认为是中国对外贸易的主要衡量标准。根据海关总署的数据，今年第一季度，中国作为世界第二大经济体，出口同比增长4.9%，达到5.74万亿元人民币（7921.2亿美元）。
分析人士表示，中国外贸的良好表现凸显了中国经济的韧性、潜力和活力，揭穿了西方声称“中国外贸寒冬即将来临”或宣扬“中国顶峰论”的沉思和其他谬论。
中国民生银行首席经济学家温斌表示，由于去年基数较低，以及稳定外贸的宏观政策，第二季度出口将继续增长。
温告诉《环球时报》，尽管一些西方政客和组织指责中国新能源行业所谓的产能过剩，给中国的外贸增加了不确定性，但对中国产品的外部需求仍然稳固，预计全球整体贸易将在2024年逐步恢复。
世贸组织在4月10日的新预测中表示，预计今年世界商品贸易量将增长2.6%，2025年将增长3.3%。
分析人士表示，中国经济总体趋势平稳、长期增长不会改变，将在短期内实现经济繁荣的基础上培育支撑长期增长的优势。
“中国经济远未见顶。如果中国的GDP在未来十年继续以4-5%的速度增长，它仍然比美国快得多，“中国与全球化研究中心高级研究员何伟文周二告诉《环球时报》。他说，以大数据、人工智能和新能源汽车等新技术为特色的新型优质生产力的发展，将为劳动生产率带来革命性的变革，从而为世界第二大经济体带来更高的增长率。他表示，需要加大力度鼓励自主创新，深化体制改革开放，与世界各国企业开展合作。
中国国务院总理李强上周在广交会上参观了多家企业的展位时表示，广交会应在扩大中国高水平开放、推动建设开放型世界经济方面发挥更大作用。李强总理勉励企业不断提升研发能力，努力实现数字化、智能化、绿色化转型。
尽管面临美国脱钩和限制等挑战，但李强总理对中国对外贸易的未来表示乐观。“一方面，中国与东盟、俄罗斯等周边国家的对外贸易稳步增长。另一方面，中国对美国等发达经济体的出口正在逐步恢复，因为合作契合双方的需求，供应链难以中断。”李强总理表示。
