Integrating strengths from Canton Fair to Yiwu helps China attract global buyers

　　Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

More than 100 overseas buyers reportedly arrived in Yiwu, China's hub for small commodities, on a charter flight from Guangzhou following their visit to the 138th Canton Fair. News site zjol.com reported on Tuesday that the group will spend the coming days exploring the newly opened Global Digital Trade Center - Yiwu's sixth-generation marketplace - and participating in cross-border procurement events. The trip linking the Canton Fair and Yiwu offers a glimpse into the multiple dimensions of China's foreign trade, where large-scale manufacturing exhibitions, digital commerce platforms, and other channels increasingly complement one another within an integrated ecosystem.

As global trade undergoes another round of restructuring amid US tariff pressures, the question of how China continues to attract overseas buyers has drawn renewed attention. The recent interplay between the Canton Fair and Yiwu offers some clues. For many international purchasers, China's appeal increasingly lies in the depth and flexibility of its trading system - an ecosystem that is bringing together diverse strengths into a more integrated whole.

The 138th Canton Fair, which opened on October 15, remains a key indicator of China's export strength and industrial evolution. This year's exhibition featured a broad array of technology-driven products - from smart office chairs and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered refrigerators to wearable devices capable of real-time health monitoring. The trend points to a broader shift: Chinese manufacturers are moving steadily up the value chain, seeking competitiveness through innovation and design rather than scale and cost alone.

Continuous technological innovation, underpinned by China's comprehensive industrial supply chain, has accelerated the upgrading of its manufacturing sector and strengthened the foundation of its foreign trade. From raw materials and components to high-end manufacturing, China's integrated industrial system ensures both export capacity and supply chain stability. This depth of production capability has become a key factor in sustaining China's appeal to international buyers, who value reliability and scale in an increasingly fragmented global market. Even amid a complex external environment shaped by rising protectionism, this solid industrial base continues to anchor the resilience of China's trade.

Yiwu, from another perspective, offers a different vantage point - one focused on the digital transformation of trade. The Global Digital Trade Center, inaugurated on October 14, embodies the city's long-term effort to integrate traditional small-commodity trading with digital infrastructure.

In Yiwu, small-commodity sellers now use AI tools to generate multilingual product videos in less than a minute. Similar scenes are unfolding across many Chinese cities, where cross-border e-commerce merchants employ platforms such as DeepSeek to design promotional materials and enhance efficiency, while AI hosts conduct late-night livestreams that automatically present product details and compare prices. The rise of these "AI+" applications has become a significant driver of China's digital trade.

Amid a complex international environment, China's foreign trade exhibits clear and steadily strengthening comprehensive advantages. These strengths are evident in multiple dimensions: the manufacturing capabilities showcased at the Canton Fair; the AI- and digitally enabled efficiencies emerging in cities such as Yiwu; the country's growing capacity in producing raw materials and intermediate goods, and the cultural appeal embedded in traditional Chinese manufactured products, among other factors. Together, they illustrate how China's trade system combines scale, technology, and cultural elements to maintain resilience and continue attracting global buyers.

The charter flight linking the Canton Fair and Yiwu provides a clear illustration of how China's foreign trade integrates its diverse strengths, attracting international buyers in the process. For overseas purchasers, this integration translates into convenience, efficiency, and reliability, reinforcing the practical appeal of sourcing from China even amid a shifting global trade environment.

Together, these factors - robust industrial chains, high-level openness, technological innovation, and the empowerment of digital trade - form a resilient, adaptable, and competitive framework for China's foreign trade. The journey from the Canton Fair to Yiwu symbolizes the coordinated capabilities of a multi-dimensional trade system - one that continues to evolve, offering global buyers a broad range of sourcing opportunities.