Jeff Brown’s jaw dropped open. The businessman visited the famous “Canton Fair” in Guangzhou last week and found literally one million new products being launched—and the first thing he did was extend his visit.
NORMALLY, I CAN COVER the entire event in two days. However, with the expanded number of products I had to extend my stay another day.
Besides the increased number of exhibitors there were many more visitors. There were massive crowds every day.
THIS IS ME
I am an American married to a Hong Kong native who has not lived in the United States for 16 years. I have lived and worked in Hong Kong, Macau, Dubai and Thailand. I currently split living between Hong Kong and Thailand.
My company is a Hong Kong-based one that exports lithium-battery electric scooters to the Caribbean and South America.
I just sent two containers to the heavily “sanctioned” island of Cuba. Visiting the fair is vital to see the new innovations/ products and to develop contacts with the Chinese manufacturers.
BUSINESS IS BOOMING
The 135th Canton Fair highlights an optimized company structure, featuring enterprises that are leaders in high and new technologies.
As of Sunday, there were about 150,000 purchasers from 215 countries present. Compared to the previous fair, there was a 33 percent increase in companies recognized as leaders in their industry or high-tech sectors.
There was also a 24.4 percent rise in enterprises specializing in industries such as smart living, the “new energy trio” (electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products), and industrial automation.
Known as China’s “barometer for foreign trade”, the fair is the country’s oldest and most comprehensive trade fair. One of the key themes in this session is innovation, with over one million new products being launched and showcased.
SANCTIONS
It’s sad that my country can only try to control another country’s technology and manufacturing growth through sanctions.
I tell my friends in the US to go into Walmart, Target, Costco and any of the major consumer electronic stores and see where these products are manufactured. Proposing additional tariffs on these goods will only increase prices for American consumers.
US Treasury representative Janet Yellen should have advised the purchasers attending the Canton Fair from the 215 countries that they are contributing to the China “over-capacity” problem!
Image at the top from the Canton Trade Fair Organization.