The 130th China Import and Export Commodities Fair (Canton Fair) was held from October 15 to 19, on the banks of the Pearl River, open to thousands of businessmen and visitors from all over the world. The Canton Fair, known as the barometer and indicator of China's foreign trade, epitomizes the development history in this field. Close to 8,000 companies came to the offline exhibition and 26,000 domestic and foreign traders joined the virtual fair, showing another expansion of connections on the Canton Fair. On the other hand, the pandemic posed severe challenges to the fair at such a large scale, from regular response and prevention of imported infections to the uncertain trade demand. To this end, Guangzhou formulated stringent plans by high standards on the COVID-19 prevention and control, and stood ready to ensure security in border entry, city entry, local hotels and the exhibition venue through joint efforts made by multiple departments. The exhibition has 51 exhibition areas classified in 16 categories, with a total of 19,181 booths and 7,795 exhibitors, among which manufacturers, foreign traders, and industrial and trade enterprises accounted for 52.84%, 34.35% and 12.10% respectively. The figures of state-owned companies, foreign-funded companies and private companies were 8.83%, 8.70% and 82.47% respectively. The import exhibition on the site attracted 92 exhibitors containing a group of Global Top 500 firms and industry leaders from 15 countries and regions, including Europe, the United States, and Canada.
