China held its China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, in Guangzhou (Canton) City, Guangdong Province from April 15 to May 5. Official numbers claimed two new records: over 35,000 companies set up exhibition booths and over 2.9 million people
attended the exhibition. However, some vendors complained that they had no visitors at their booths at all.
The total transaction amount, both online and at the fair, was US$25.1 billion, down 15 percent from 2019, which was US$29.3 billion.
Some media reported that foreigners accounted for only 18 percent of the total attendees. That means most of the people were from the manufacturers trying to sell their products. “Among the foreign clients, the majority were from developing countries, which meant that they were more interested in purchasing high-productivity equipment but not a large quantity of consumer goods; there was a significant drop in the number of U.S. and European customers compared to the previous fair.”
Source: Radio Free Asia, May 8, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/hcm-05082023090035.html