The 139th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) opened in Guangzhou on the 15th. There are over 32000 participating companies in this year's Canton Fair, including over 11000 high-quality enterprises with titles such as specialization, refinement, novelty, and individual champions, all exceeding the level of previous editions. In response to the new trends and characteristics of foreign trade development, the exhibition area of this year's Canton Fair has increased to 179, and for the first time, 9 special areas have been added, including intelligent wearables, display technology, consumer grade drones, integrated houses, and courtyard facilities. More new enterprises, products, and technologies are entering the world to serve global consumers. Among the participating companies, 60% have their own brands, nearly 20% have made external investments, and over one-third have shifted from selling products to exporting "products+services". At the same time, 210 institutions have entered to provide customized services such as smart warehousing, AI quality inspection, and intelligent supply chain. The outline of the 15th Five Year Plan proposes to promote the integration of trade and investment. Zhu Yong, Director of the China International Trade Center, said that the Canton Fair will focus on integrating traditional services and empowering innovative services, creating a new ecosystem of trade promotion services throughout the entire lifecycle, and amplifying spillover effects. The Canton Fair, which operates regularly and is constantly updated, has attracted a steady increase in the total volume and quality of buyers. As of the 9th, there were over 210000 pre registered purchasers; 290 top purchasing companies have been confirmed to participate, with a year-on-year increase of 30%; 148 industrial and commercial institutions confirmed to attend the conference in groups, a year-on-year increase of 17.5%. Zhu Yong introduced that the old purchasers' willingness to attend the conference remained stable, the new purchasers were mainly from countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road", and Latin America, Africa and other regions grew rapidly. Pierre Petide Manger, the procurement director of Auchan Group Guangzhou Branch, said that Auchan Group's annual non food procurement in China exceeded 300 million euros. Every time I participate in the Canton Fair, there are always new surprises. This is not only a trading platform, but also a source of inspiration. (New Society)