From April 15 to May 5, 2025, the 137th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) will be held in three phases at the Pazhou Complex in Guangzhou. This event, known as the “vane of China’s foreign trade”, has once again broken historical records with an exhibition area of 1.55 million square meters, 74,000 booths, and 31,000 exhibitors, becoming one of the world’s largest comprehensive international trade platforms.
1. Exhibition scale: 1.55 million square meters of “trade universe”
The total exhibition area of this Canton Fair is 1.55 million square meters, equivalent to the area of 210 standard football fields. The exhibition hall is divided into 13 sections and 55 exhibition areas, and 172 subdivided product areas are set up for the first time, covering the entire industrial chain from traditional manufacturing to emerging technologies. For example, the first phase focused on “advanced manufacturing” and concentrated on displaying high-end products such as industrial robots, new energy vehicles, and intelligent equipment; the second phase was themed “quality home”, covering furniture, building materials, daily consumer goods and other fields; the third phase centered on “good life”, exhibiting livelihood products such as clothing, food, and health care.
In terms of the number of booths, among the 74,000 booths, the export exhibition accounted for more than 98%, reaching 73,000, while the import exhibition attracted 736 companies from 50 countries and regions to participate. This “main and auxiliary” layout not only consolidates China’s advantages as a global manufacturing center, but also strengthens the function of the Canton Fair as an international procurement hub.
2. Exhibitors: 31,000 “Innovation Legion”
The number of exhibitors at this Canton Fair exceeded 31,000 for the first time, an increase of nearly 900 from the previous session. Among them, there are more than 9,700 enterprises with titles such as national high-tech enterprises, specialized and new “little giants” enterprises, and single champions in manufacturing, an increase of 20% year-on-year; there are about 3,700 enterprises involved in the “new three” (new energy vehicles, photovoltaic products, and lithium batteries), digital technology, and intelligent manufacturing, accounting for 12%. These data show that the Canton Fair has become a “display window” for China’s industrial upgrading and technological innovation.
It is worth noting that there are more than 4,200 new exhibitors, including many “hidden champions” in the industry. For example, a Shenzhen company exhibited a humanoid robot for the first time, which can complete complex industrial operations; a Zhejiang company launched an intelligent textile machinery that is three times more efficient than traditional equipment. In addition, there are more than 17,000 companies with independent brands and nearly 22,000 companies that have passed international certification, highlighting the transformation of China’s manufacturing from “OEM” to “brand overseas”.
3. Buyer scale: 288,900 “global gathering”
As of May 4, 2025, a total of 288,900 overseas buyers from 219 countries and regions attended the fair, an increase of 17.3% over the 135th session. This figure not only set a record high, but also reflects the continued deepening of the global market’s dependence on China’s supply chain. From the perspective of geographical distribution, buyers from the “Belt and Road” countries accounted for more than 60%, becoming the main growth force; the number of European and American buyers returned to the pre-epidemic level year-on-year, indicating that international demand has rebounded.
Online platforms are also active. From March 16 to September 15, 2025, the Canton Fair online exhibition continued to operate for half a year, attracting 527,000 overseas buyers from 229 countries and regions to register, an increase of 77,000 over the previous session. The online and offline integration model enables the Canton Fair to break through the limitations of time and space and become a “never-ending” trade platform.
4. Transaction volume: “Confidence index” of US$25.44 billion
The intended export transaction volume at this Canton Fair was US$25.44 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3%. Although the growth rate has slowed down compared with the pre-epidemic period, this achievement still demonstrates the resilience of China’s foreign trade against the backdrop of the rise of global trade protectionism and intensified geopolitical conflicts. By category, the transaction volume of electromechanical products accounted for more than 50%, among which emerging fields such as new energy vehicles and smart homes grew significantly; traditional labor-intensive products (such as clothing and toys) achieved stable exports through technological upgrades and branding.
In terms of import exhibitions, enterprises from countries participating in the construction of the “Belt and Road” accounted for 67%, and transactions were active. For example, agricultural products from Kazakhstan, rubber products from Southeast Asia, and petrochemical raw materials from the Middle East entered the Chinese market through the Canton Fair platform, further deepening regional economic cooperation.
5. Industrial logic behind the scale
The continued expansion of the scale of the Canton Fair is essentially a reflection of the modernization and upgrading of China’s industrial chain and supply chain. On the one hand, China’s manufacturing industry is transforming towards high-end, intelligent and green development, and the Canton Fair has become the first launch site for new technologies and new products; on the other hand, global buyers are becoming more dependent on China’s supply chain, and the Canton Fair has become a key platform for stabilizing international orders and resisting trade risks.
As experts from the Ministry of Commerce said: “The scale of the Canton Fair is a ‘thermometer’ of China’s foreign trade resilience and a ‘weather vane’ of global economic confidence.” Today, as the century-old changes are accelerating, this “super exhibition” is injecting certainty into global trade with a more open attitude and a more innovative form.
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