Guangzhou gears up for a bigger, better Canton Fair

In a bid to beat the impact on its economy of the global economic slump, China is making all efforts to promote its products through an expanded three-phase Canton Trade Fair.

After moving to a new complex and adopting a significant reform of three phases of the Canton Trade Fair in one session in October last year, it is gearing up to make the Canton Fair a bigger, event during its 105th session, to be held in Guangzhou from 15 April to 7 May 2009.

In order to help buyers and exhibitors to cope with the severe economic situations, China Foreign Trade Centre (CFTC) will give top priority to the overall upgrade of its exhibition service and quality at this year's event, aimed at protecting the reputation of ''Made in China'', forging Chinese brands, and promoting balanced development of import and export.

In order to facilitate transaction and extend negotiation time, the daily closing time of this session will be changed from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The Canton Fair Complex, operated and managed by CFTC, boasts the most advanced facilities and the most complete functions in Asia.

Located at Pazhou Island in Guangzhou, the brand new Complex has 37 exhibition halls with exhibition space of 3,40,000 square meters, and it consists of Area A, B and C covering an area of more than 800,000 square meters and boasting a construction area of over 1.1 million square meters. The three areas are connected by one large flyover. Being adjacent to the Pearl River, the complex enjoys beautiful environment, convenient transportation and well-equipped facilities.

This year's session will also have three phases, with 55,000 stands and total exhibition space of 1.1 million square meters. The fair divides the exhibits into 15 categories and shows them in 50 specialised sections.

Phase I of the Canton Fair will exhibit seven categories of electronics an household electrical appliances; hardware and tools; machinery; vehicles and spare parts; building materials; lighting equipment; and chemical products.

It will have 17 specialised exhibition sections including large machinery and equipment; small machinery; bicycles; motorcycles; vehicle spare parts; chemical products; hardware; tools; vehicles (outdoor); construction machinery (outdoor); household electrical appliances; consumer electronics; electronic and electrical products; computer and communication products; lighting equipment; building and decorative materials; sanitary and bathroom equipment.

The International Pavilion will be set up according to national and regional division in Phase 1 with 9 subsections and exhibition space of 15,000 square meters. The first interval is from 20 April to 23 April.

Phase II will be immediately from April 24 to 28, exhibiting 3 categories of consumer goods, gifts, and home decorations. It will have 16 specialised exhibition sections including kitchenware and tableware; general ceramics; art ceramics; home decorations; glass artware; furniture; weaving, rattan and iron arts; gardening products; stone and iron products (outdoor); household items; personal care products; toiletries; clocks, watches and optical instruments; toys; gifts and premiums; and festival products.

Meanwhile, Phase III will be conducted from 3 to 7 May, exhibiting 5 categories of textiles and garments; shoes; office supplies, cases and bags, recreation products; medicines, medical devices, health products; food and native produce.

This will have 17 specialised exhibition sections including men's and women's clothes; kids' wear; underwear; sports and casual wear; furs, leather, downs and related products; fashion accessories and fittings; home textiles; textile raw materials and fabrics; carpets and tapestries; food; native produce; medicines and health products; medical devices, disposables and dressings; sports, travel and recreation products; office supplies; shoes; cases and bags.