What is Canton Fair?

Hailed ht largest in its category China, Canton Fair is a trade fair held in the spring and autumn seasons each year since the spring of 1957 at Guangzhou. Its full name since 2007 has been China Import and Export Fair renamed from Chinese Export Commodities Fair and also known as The Canton Fair.

It is co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of China and People's Government of the Guangdong Province, and organized by China Foreign Trade Centre. It has the largest assortment of products, the largest attendance, and the largest number of business deals made at the fair. Like many trade fairs it has several traditions and functions as a comprehensive event of international importance.

Fifty product trading categories, being composed of thousands of China's best foreign trade corporations (enterprises), take part in the fair. These include private enterprises, factories, scientific research institutions, wholly foreign-owned enterprises, and foreign trade companies.

The fair leans to export trade, though import business is also done here. Apart from the above-mentioned, various types of business activities such as economic and technical cooperation and exchange, commodity inspection, insurance, transportation, advertising, and trade consultation are other activities that are also commonly carried out at the fair.