119th Canton Fair Unveils Huge Business Prospects and Opportunities for Traders from Kuwait

The China Foreign Trade Centre, organisers of the China Import and Export Fair, have announced that its 119th Canton Fair will be held in Guangzhou, China from 15 April to 5 May 2016.

The announcement was made at a video conference in Kuwait attended by journalists aimed at presenting the huge opportunities for further bilateral trade with the Gulf state.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China and the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, the Canton Fair is regarded as one of the largest comprehensive trade fairs in the world. In playing a key role in the advancement of Chinese foreign trade and trade exchanges between China and the world, this year event will have 60,000 exhibition stands over a vast area of 1.18 million square meters. It will also feature 150,000 categories of high quality products divided into 16 exhibit sections.

The Canton Fair will have an International Pavilion covering 20,000 square meters with 1,000 stands. Over 24,000 outstanding enterprises from all over the world have showcased their key products at every session of the Canton Fair.

“Out of the total 177,544 professional buyers from 213 countries and regions who visited the 118th Canton Fair last autumn, 507 of them came from Kuwait,” said Hakel Wen, International VIP Service Executive, International Communication Department of the China Foreign Trade Centre. “These professional buyers from Kuwait mainly sourced their requirement for electronics & household electrical appliances, home decorations and consumer goods”. 

“Considering the population of Kuwait, this group represented a huge group of businessmen,” he added. “This is reflective of the strong commercial ties between Kuwait and China. I am therefore confident that, with China and Kuwait’s firm commitment at maintaining such healthy trade relations, we will see an even bigger contingent from Kuwait. Rest assured, we are ready and prepared to welcome more Kuwaiti traders to the 119th Canton Fair.”

The overall bilateral trade relations between China and Kuwait are valued at 11.3 billion US dollars at the year of 2015. Among the main exports from China to Kuwait are electrical products, clothes and textiles, while Kuwait’s exports to China include petrol and plastic.

To further reach out to a wider audience, the Canton Fair has launched a Facebook page in six languages: English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. In opening up a new channel for all its followers to find fresh pictures, lovely videos, special offers and the latest information about the Canton Fair, the page now enjoys 420,000 fans all over the world. 

As part of its online presence, the Canton Fair home website has also launched a ‘Highlight Products’ section that displays the highest quality products online prior to the actual staging of the Canton Fair. Over 1,800 well-known enterprises have already participated and displayed over 20,000 products. The aim of the online ‘Highlight Products’ section is to allow buyers to get a preview of the 119th Canton Fair, collect interesting exhibits and enjoy the Made-in-China style through this platform.

On one hand, For traders who wish to have a hassle-free and experience, the Canton fair has opened its overseas VIP Club. This is aimed at providing Canton Fair VIP members with a host of VIP services in Area A (Elite VIP Club), Area B and Area C (Overseas VIP Club).

On the other hand, to facilitate sourcing, the Canton Fair has also established its Multinational Enterprises Sourcing Services. This will enable over 38 international famous retailers such as Carrefour and Wal-Mart to gather business information, meet Chinese suppliers, and hold a ‘sourcing day’ with customized theme activities.

Lastly, to ensure that traders will experience cost-effective and luxurious travel to China, Qatar Airways has been appointed as the Official Airline Partner of the 119th and 120th Canton Fair. Accordingly, Qatar Airways will be launching a series of special airfare offers for the buyers from Middle East & African countries.