The fair's product and design center attracted over 5,300 visits from enterprises and promoted more than 1,000 deals.

Deputy Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan (center) at the 111th Canton Fair. Photos by Guo Xiaohong / for China Daily

The 111th China Import and Export Fair, better known as the Canton Fair, concluded on May 5 in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong province.

By May 4, nearly 210,000 purchasers from 213 countries or regions had attended the fair, a 0.23 percent increase over the previous session and a 1.23 percent increase compared to the 109th fair.

The top 10 countries or regions in terms of the number of exhibitors in attendance were the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China's Taiwan province, the United States, India, Russia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Australia and South Korea.

Nearly 74,000 new purchasers attended the fair, accounting for 35 percent of the total number.

"The total value of export deals signed reached $36.03 billion, a decline of 4.8 percent compared with the fair's 110th session and a 2.3 percent drop versus the 109th fair," said Liu Jianjun, spokesman and deputy director of the China Foreign Trade Center.

"Exports to the US and Europe continue to fall due to the European debt crisis and the jobless rate in the US."

The number of purchasers from the European Union declined by 15.5 percent.

The total value of deals closed with the European Union dropped by 5.6 percent, while the total value of deals with the United States declined 8.1 percent.

This year saw a 4.1 percent increase of deals with emerging markets, including BRICS members Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.

The amount of contracts with companies from Africa rose by 13.5 percent.

More than 86 percent of orders were medium and short-term orders, which refer to contracts covering six months or fewer.

The figure suggests that the global financial crisis is making purchasers cautious about placing orders.

At the same time, domestic enterprises are unwilling to take long-term orders due to fluctuating raw materials prices and foreign exchange rates.

Another novel aspect of this year's Canton Fair was the increasing number of branded domestic companies that brought their own innovative designs.

Almost 1,500 brand-name companies had a presence at the fair, comprising nearly 19 percent of the total. They signed deals worth a combined $13.3 billion, an increase of 5.6 percent.

Brand enterprises also concluded outright transactions worth $8.93 million, nearly six times the value by enterprises without a distinct brand.

The trend shows that some enterprises with advanced technology, branding, quality and services substantially increased their transactions and profits.

By comparison, OEMs and manufacturers with generic products did not fare as well at the recently concluded session.

Another feature of this canton fair is the boom of e-commerce.

The cumulative visitor volume of the Canton Fair website reached 126 million, an increase of 0.8 percent against the previous session. The deals closed online are expected to reach nearly $51 million.

Intellectual property complaints are on the decline. This session of the Canton Fair accepted a total of 546 IPR complaints, and 398 enterprises were suspected, an obvious decrease compared to the previous session.

It is crucial that China strengthen IPR protection if it is to maintain the competitiveness of domestic enterprises on the market and speed up the transformation of the mode of development of foreign trade.

During this session, the number of IPR complaints dropped, but the percentage of legitimate complaints filed increased as well as the number of complicated cases.

For example, there are cases in which both the parties to a complaint own the legal title rights to a product name. These instances suggest a growing awareness of IPR protection among Chinese enterprises.

The fair's product and design center has made significant achievements.

The design and display activity attracted 32 design institutions and more than 120 designers from 10 countries and regions.

During this session, the display area increased by 45.82 percent compared to last year.

The center attracted more than 5,300 representatives from enterprises, promoted more than 1,000 deals and attracted the attention of more than 30 key media.

What's more, speeches by officials from the Ministry of Commerce, US governors and counselors attracted more than 400 spectators.

The service quality of the Canton Fair has greatly improved. During this session, the customer service center provided full-time service in five languages - Chinese, English, Spanish, French and Russian - via Interactive Voice Response or human service.

The hotline received 30,400 incoming calls altogether and handled 1,275 cases.

According to the survey, nearly 94 percent of the foreign businessmen were satisfied with the organizers' job. During this session, nearly 12,700 emails from purchasers were handled, and the information of more than 35,000 companies was examined and verified.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/25/2012 page12)