Canton Fair, a pillar for global trade, local suppliers

Home>>

By QIU QUANLIN in Guangzhou (China Daily) 13:57, May 13, 2025

An overseas purchaser uses a VR device to experience the intelligent cockpit system of a new energy vehicle during the 137th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on April 19. CHEN JIMIN/CHINA NEWS SERVICE

John Leal, founder and CEO of ODM Pacific Ltd, was looking for industrial machines during the 137th China Import and Export Fair that can improve production efficiency for factories in Brazil.

Leal is a regular visitor to the global trade event, popularly known as the Canton Fair. He sees the biannual event, which showcases virtually the entirety of industrial and consumer good categories, as one of the best platforms for global trading.

"I have been visiting more than 10 sessions of the fair — so I have seen a lot of buyers coming here to get new ideas to start new businesses," said Leal, with several badges of the fair hanging around his neck.

"I get one badge coming here each session. I collect them with pride because my life is built around the foreign trade business with Chinese suppliers," he said. The Brazilian businessman also looked for innovative home and furniture products during the fair that are expected to be hot items sold to the overseas market.

"As people's houses are getting more and more expensive worldwide, we are looking for innovative products like home appliances and furniture that can help save space," he said.

Leal meets with his Chinese suppliers every six months. He said the fair allows him to stay connected with his suppliers, adding "it's a great place to continue my business".

Additionally, Leal supported other overseas buyers in selecting products during the fair — not only checking the credibility of suppliers, but also evaluating technical details of the products.

"Because very often the buyers are not in engineering, they don't know how to assess the quality of those products — so I try to help them select the best Chinese suppliers and do some modifications to make their products more suitable for markets overseas," he said.

Leal's company expects to bring innovative products selected during the fair to Brazilian and worldwide customers.

"Actually the current trade war is also a great opportunity for many buyers worldwide. If people can adapt and find a new market, it can be good for both sides like buyers from Brazil and Chinese exporters," he said.

The current turbulence in global trade means that there will be more products available and more latitude to negotiate with Chinese supplier prices, according to Leal.

Chinese factories are less busy with orders, so buyers from new markets have room to negotiate better prices, and the factories have the opportunity to expand their products to new markets such as South America, he said.

"We need to act fast and take advantage of the current uncertain global trade situation," Leal said. "We have noticed a big increase in demand of industrial machines in Brazil, from last year to this year, because local businesses have been trying to find alternatives to increase margins."

Visitors take photos of a service robot performance during the 137th Canton Fair on May 5. QIU QUANLIN/CHINA DAILY

The fair's spring session proved more popular, and emerging markets remained the largest source of overseas buyers for the showpiece, which concluded in early May in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province. The fair, commonly seen as a barometer of China's foreign trade, is held twice a year in spring and in autumn in Guangzhou.

As of May 4, a total of 288,938 overseas buyers from 219 countries and regions were recorded as having attended the global trade event, representing a 17.3 percent increase from the 135th session of the fair, also held in spring last year, according to the organizers.

Of those that attended, a total of 187,450 buyers were from countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, marking a 17.4 percent increase compared to the fair's 135th session and accounting for 64.9 percent of the total.

Buyers from BRICS countries and members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership also increased significantly, showing a growth of 24.1 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively, according to the fair's organizers.

"Brazilian companies all dream about one day importing from China," said Leal, adding nowadays around 30,000 companies in Brazil currently import from China, but stressed the importance of understanding your market and your product.

"It's always important to know where you are going to sell products. If you don't know the market, you don't know the product, then no matter how good the product is, you cannot make a successful business," said Leal. He said interest from Brazil was not only confined to industrial machines, but also evident in consumer and retail oriented businesses like jewelry, clothing or electronics.