Liu Jianjun, Spokesperson of the Canton Fair and the Deputy Director General of China Foreign Trade Centre
May 5^th 2014

Friends from the press, ladies and gentlemen:

Good afternoon! Welcome to the concluding press conference of the 115th session of the Canton Fair.

The 115th Canton Fair is closing this afternoon. With slow recovery of global economy and greater risk of downturn in China’s foreign trade sector, the 115th Canton Fair continues to adopt the policy of “keep the momentum and make progress, forge ahead and spur innovation”. We’ve made new efforts in exhibition topics, business promotion, information exchange and Fair services to make the Fair a more specialized and market-oriented one with global influence. We’ve provided assistance to exhibitors in their global business expansion to develop their new competitive edges. As the Sate Council values the development of foreign trade sector, Premier Li Keqiang chaired the standing committee in April 30th on relevant measures for steady foreign trade growth and structure optimization. Recently the Ministry of Commerce has also discussed with relevant departments over policy measures to support foreign trade and encourage the new competitive edges, so as to create a better environment for Chinese companies in foreign trade sector and drive China’s shift from a big trading nation to a strong one.

With the attention and leadership from the party committee of the Ministry of Commerce, the support of provincial and municipal governments and other relevant agencies, and the concerted efforts of our staff, the 115th Canton Fair went on smoothly and we reached our goals.

Now I would like to conclude to you the general situation of this session.

1. Slight decrease of buyer attendance

188,119 overseas buyers from 214 countries and regions around the world attended the 115th Canton Fair, a 0.81% decrease over the 114th session and a 7.23% decrease over the 113th session.
Of all continents, Asia ranks No.1 in buyer attendance, taking up 55.46% of the total. No.2 is Europe 17.19% of the total, No.3 America 14.68% of the total, No.4 Africa with 9.27% share, and No.5 Oceania with 3.4% share respectively.

Compared with the last session, the number of buyers from Africa increased by 29.11%, from Asia increased by 1.55%, from Oceania decreased by 0.76%, from America down by 1.97%, and Europe down by 16.62%. Compared with the 113th session, the number of buyers from Africa was up by 0.07%, from Asia down by 5.16 %, Oceania down by 11.17%, Europe down by 11.24%, and America down by 12.91%.

Buyer attendance of the top 20 countries and regions accounted for 62.14% of the total, 3.26 percentage points lower than the previous session. The top 10 countries and regions with the most buyers are Hong Kong SAR, the United States, India, Taiwan Province, Russia, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Australia and Japan.
Buyer attendance from China’s 2013 top ten trading partner countries and regions accounted for 59.40% of the total, 6.78 percentage points lower than the previous session.

Altogether 1,457 international chain companies attended the Fair, down by 3.57% compared with the 114th session. 3,391 representatives from these companies attended the Fair, roughly the same compared with the last session. 115 out of the World 250 Retail Enterprises released in 2013 attended the Fair. Among them were 8 of the top 10 retail enterprises: Wal-mart, Carrefour, Tesco, Metro, Kroger, Costco, ALDI and Home Depot.
Among regular buyers, 51,479 attended the Fair for over 10 times, up by 3.55% over the 114th session; for over 15 times there were 32,640, up by 3.95% over the last session. This shows that regular buyers are showing higher degree of loyalty.

2. The traditional markets face weak recovery while emerging markets limited demand. Chinese companies pay more attention to cultivating new advantages in foreign trade.

The accumulated export transaction of this session totaled 191.184 billion RMB (or 31.051 billion US dollars), a decrease of 2.01% over the 114th session and a decrease of 12.64% over the 113th session (fluctuation of exchange rate has been deducted).

The transaction with the EU, Japan, and the US was down by 1.3%, 7.93%, and up by 0.72% over the 114th session, and decreased by 9.44%, 4.69% and up by 2.54% over the 113th session; with BRICS countries (India, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa), increased by 5.11% over the 114th session and decreased by 12.96% over the 113th session; with the Middle East, an increase of 1.72% over the 114th session and a decrease of 21.87% over the 113th session; with ASEAN countries, a decline of 15.26% over the 114th session and 18.31% over the 113th session.

Transaction achieved by private enterprises was up by 2.4% over the 114th session and down by 8.26% over the 113th session; turnover achieved by foreign invested enterprises was down by 12.83% over the 114th session and 18.77% over the 113th session; by state-owned enterprises down by 1.33% over the 114th session and 19.6% over the 113th session.

The share of mid- and short-term orders was still high while that of long-term orders stayed low. Short-term orders within 3 months took up 50.39% of the total; mid-term orders of 3 to 6 months 32.77% of the total; and long-term orders 16.84% of the total.

Transaction in Brand Zone is brisk and brand enterprises focused more on developing new competitive edge based on technology, brand, quality and services. The turnover in Brand Zone took account of 33.98% of the total. Enterprises with indigenous brand, advanced design concepts, innovative technology and value-added products witnessed brisk transaction. More and more companies realized that it is an inevitable choice for their survival and growth to develop new competitive edges.

The International Pavilion attracted many great global enterprises. 539 enterprises from 43 countries and regions exhibited their products. By May 4th, 89,982 people visited the International Pavilion, a 3.71% increase over the 113th session. An Innovation Zone of electronic products is set up in Phase 1 to showcase high-tech products from all over the world as an advanced stage for innovative and tech companies. In Phase 3, Fabrics and Textile has been enlarged to include home textile to meet the one-stop purchasing demand of overseas buyers. It is widely recognized that there are more professional buyers in the International Pavilion this session with better effects achieved.

3. Canton Fair’s premium information services were popular

2013 CF Awards has a good exemplary effect, as the winners’ products witness more transaction after the showcase in this session. More Chinese companies have shown interest in this activity. The deadline for application of 2014 CF Awards is May 10, and till present, nearly 400 companies have signed in with more than 600 candidate products, a large increase over last year.

 “Design Events to Promote Trade” series activities were very popular among exhibitors from home and abroad, design companies and global buyers. 2680 companies took an active part in the design events as an opportunity to development their competitive edge. During this session, the space of Canton Fair PDC totaled 1,084.5 m2, up by 21% over the 113th session. 70 design institutes from 11 countries and regions participated in the design display. Among the total 13,916 cases where customers had the intention, 3,875 cases may turn into projects. The 115th Canton Fair held 8 thematic forums and 3 targeted design match-making activities as well as 29 “Design Talks” events, with more topics under discussion and higher quality. The international market forum of this session took the theme of UAE and attracted more than 200 company representatives.

4. Good start of Canton Fair Green Development

In this session, we implemented the Green Development Plan on a full scale to promote low carbon and environmental protection in the Fair. The number of green stands in this session stands at 30,476, accounting for 50.9% of the total. Exhibitors are more active in participating in the selection of green custom-built stands, with 778 exhibitors signed in (238% increase over the 113th session) and 85 stands winning the title of “Green Custom Built Stands”. As we haven’t completed dismantling all the stands in Phase 3, the final precise data will be publicized after all stands dismantled. The Green Development Plan follows the trend of China’s national policy and world’s exhibition industry, and plays a key role for the upgrading and sustainable development of Canton Fair. The amount of waste planking, pollutants and harmful gases emitted is much less than that in the 114th session. The pace of stand dismantling has been quickened and efficiency improved.

5. The awareness of IPR protection of all parties was enhanced

In this session, the Canton Fair Complaint Station handled 490 IPR cases, with 664 exhibitors filed and 308 determined as constituting alleged infringement. Compared with the previous session, the number of cases handled decreased by 2%, the number of filed enterprises increased by 8.67%, and the number of alleged infringement was up by 5.84%. The Station also dealt with 57 trade disputes, up by 29.55% over the last session. The 115th Canton Fair continued to issue Agency Badge for IPR complaints, and 27 agencies applied for the Badge.

6. Canton Fair E-Commerce is fully upgraded

In the 115th session, Canton Fair E-Commerce Platform has been fully upgraded to open registration to buyers from all over the world (including non Canton Fair buyers), which attracts the attention of more buyers and improved trade match-making. By May 4th, E-Commerce Platform witnesses new registration of 23,022 buyers, and effective business information of 68,925 pieces; suppliers logged on 22,561 times, and buyers responded to inquiries 13,014 times. The highest page views in a single day was 63,038 and the highest unique page views in a day was 5,716.

On the E-Commerce Platform we also launched “Canton Fair E-Exhibition Service” in this session to better trade match-making. Besides the Wuxi and Sanming trading delegation promotion events, we also held “10th Anniversary of MSS”, “Soucing Salon of Brazilian Delegation”, “Walmart Sourcing Day”, “Sourcing Event of Indian Delegation”, and Brazilian delegation touring porcelain industrial base in Foshan, providing offline services for suppliers and buyers. We also initiated the promotion of overseas online marketing and online social community project to push product and Fair information to global market online, in order to improve the experiences and satisfaction of E-Commerce users.

7. Highlights in on-site services

We supervised our on-site services on a full scale and improved the efficiency of services. In the 115th session, badge application and issuing are faster, management of all staffs bettered, and the order in the complex is improved. To enrich the information services, we’ve opened a Canton Fair account in WeChat, pushing official information and providing automatic responding to frequently asked questions. We now provided online payment for certain services; renting of devices, application for custom-built stands and etc can be dealt with online. We introduced more caterers and improved the environment and services in the catering area.
The Canton Fair Call Centre had 30 seats in this session, providing an all-day staff and automatic answering service in Chinese, English, Spanish, French and Russian. Through the hotline 4000-888-999, email, fax, and on-line customer service, we received 44,807 cases of inquiry and business, contacted customers in 23,097 cases (a remarkable increase of 135%), and handled 1,757 cases from end to end.
The 115th Canton Fair was greatly supported by the provincial and municipal government, the relevant commerce departments and the armed police force. The attending media from home and abroad gave comprehensive, objective and in-depth reports on efforts of exhibitors to promote innovation, build brands, develop new competitive edge based on technology, brand, quality and services, and contribute to “stable growth, restructuring and transformation”. On behalf of the News Centre of the Canton Fair, I would like to express our sincere thanks for your hard work!

Thank you!