KILLING Canton Fair
can the one belt one road save canton fair
In the face of a slowing economic outlook, and with less and less emphasis on the Made in China model that birthed the Canton Fair in all its glory, organisers are looking towards the One Belt, One Road policy to rekindle interest in raw trading with China. Foreign manufacturers have become less interested in the traditional produce-for-export model that defined China’s remarkable economic boom in terms of foreign trade. Now, companies are looking inwards, at the largely untapped potential of the Chinese domestic market. And it’s killing the Canton Fair.
Canton Fair Looks to Central Asia
October 22, 2015
Organisers of the Fair are looking to make use of the event’s profile in order to create an inclusive business platform for foreign companies seeking to exchange information, expand their networks and get to know potential Chinese clients.
The challenges faced by the Canton Fair are indicative of a changing investment environment across China, in which the power-relationship between overseas companies and their Chinese counterparts has dramatically changed. The switch from Made in China to Create in China has never been more prominent.
The country’s generalissimo may be able to offer a lifeline, however, in the form of the One Belt, One Road policy.
The initiative, proposed by President Xi Jinping two years ago, aims to enhance regional connectivity and prosperity, using ancient trade routes as a guide.
The policy is more than a philanthropic move to assist struggling economies in South East and Central Asia, it is a genuine break from Eurocentric thinking that declared the American and European markets as the most significant for Chinese development.
Though interest from these countries at the Canton Fair may have dwindled, responses from countries along the Central Asian and maritime Belt and Road routes have grown.
More than 350 companies from 28 countries along the One Belt, One Road are participating in this year’s Canton Fair.
In light of trade volume drops of nearly 10%, the Canton Fair is rearranging its focus and “becoming more sophisticated.”
Responses from traditional foreign countries to our invitation have not been enthusiastic this year due to the growing external challenges,[however] a growing number of buyers from countries and regions along the Belt and Road have expressed interest in the fair, representing new trade opportunities amid export challenges.
Xu Bing, Canton Fair Spokesman
