When the Canton Fair opens its doors on October 15 for its 138th edition, it will do so on a scale that remains unmatched in global trade. Spanning 1.55 million sqm and hosting nearly 30,000 enterprises, the fair is more than a marketplace – it is a barometer of China’s manufacturing power, technological ambition, and shifting consumer dynamics.
What began in 1957 as a pragmatic platform to connect Chinese factories with international buyers has transformed into the world’s largest and longest-running trade exhibition. Today, it is a magnet for buyers from every continent, a launchpad for innovation, and a stage where ‘Made in China’ competes for global relevance not only on cost, but on quality, design, and technology.
Scale that signals demand
The last fair set new benchmarks: Overseas buyers from 229 countries and regions joined, with 289,000 attending in person and 527,000 participating online. This hybrid model – developed during the pandemic – has cemented itself as a permanent feature, extending the Canton Fair’s reach beyond its vast exhibition halls in Guangzhou.
For the October session, the three-phase structure remains intact, but each stage has been given a sharper thematic focus. The first phase, Advanced Manufacturing, will showcase machinery, hardware, lighting, and a wave of new energy and intelligent mobility solutions. The second, Quality Home Furnishing, centres on design-led interiors and household goods. The final phase, A Better Life, embraces personal consumption – health and leisure, children’s products, fashion, and lifestyle innovation.
Together, these phases are designed to serve both long-established wholesale buyers and a growing number of retailers, distributors, and direct-to-consumer brands seeking supply chain partners in China.
A showcase of innovation
This year’s program reflects the rapid technological acceleration within China’s industrial base. Alongside traditional exports such as textiles and tools, the fair will host a striking line-up of intelligent products: humanoid robots, inspection drones, smart appliances, VR headsets, and AI-driven service robots ranging from coffee-making machines to hospital assistants.
The “smart life” and robotics pavilions will stand out as symbols of how far China’s manufacturing ecosystem has evolved beyond low-cost assembly. For buyers, these areas offer a firsthand look at how automation, green technologies, and AI are being integrated into consumer products.
The power of brands
Although the Canton Fair is open to tens of thousands of exhibitors, organisers are careful to spotlight quality. Around 2600 branded companies have been selected after stringent evaluation, while a further 9000 ‘high-quality’ enterprises will participate – including national-level high-tech firms and highly specialised SMEs known as China’s ‘little giants’. These are not generic exporters but companies that often lead their industries in innovation, patents, and niche capabilities.
This emphasis matters. For many international buyers, the fair is no longer about finding the cheapest supplier. Instead, it is about identifying partners who can deliver credibility, sustainability, and design quality at scale.
Beyond the exhibition halls
While the exhibition itself remains the centrepiece, the fair is increasingly an event-driven ecosystem. More than 400 product launches are scheduled, giving manufacturers a platform to debut innovations directly to global buyers. Around 20 forums will examine trade diversification, industry trends, and the trajectory of new technologies, providing context that goes beyond the transactional.
Supporting activities are also tailored to boost connection efficiency. The Trade Bridge program blends digital matchmaking with face-to-face sessions, helping buyers pre-screen suppliers online before committing to in-person meetings. The hybridisation of deal-making – screen-to-screen, face-to-face, or both – illustrates how China is reengineering its biggest trade show for a digital-first era.
A focus on experience
For international visitors, the practicalities of participation are smoother than ever. First-time overseas buyers can pre-register online, collect passes at airports or hotels, and bypass the traditional bottlenecks of onsite registration. Meanwhile, the fair’s mobile app and web platforms have been redesigned to make product searches, exhibitor discovery, and communications more seamless.
This attention to detail underlines a broader strategy: making the Canton Fair not just an exhibition, but an accessible global marketplace. Since 2007, the show has also included an Import Pavilion, enabling foreign companies to sell into the Chinese market. Over 18,000 overseas firms from 110 countries have already joined, from regional SMEs to global brands.
Design and IP at the forefront
Beyond trade, the Canton Fair has become a proving ground for design. Through the Product Design and Trade Promotion Centre, the fair connects international designers with Chinese manufacturers, encouraging collaborations that blend creativity with scale. The Design Innovation Award further incentivises exhibitors to invest in aesthetics and usability, not just engineering.
Intellectual property is another priority. The fair now operates a comprehensive IP protection framework, encompassing pre-event investigations, in-event dispute resolution, and post-event tracking. A 24/7 legal consultation service is available for participants navigating the complexities of global trade and cross-border IP issues – signalling that credibility and compliance are as important as competitive pricing.
Why the Canton Fair matters
At a time when global supply chains are shifting under the weight of geopolitics, the Canton Fair remains a vital fixture. It provides a single, physical and digital point of access to China’s vast manufacturing ecosystem – spanning traditional goods, advanced industrial technologies, and emerging consumer products.
For global buyers, the fair offers a unique vantage point: Not only to source, but to understand where China’s industries are heading. For Chinese exporters, it presents an opportunity to showcase their evolution from low-cost producers to innovators in automation, sustainability, and design.
In short, the Canton Fair is China’s most visible experiment in shaping the future of global commerce – one phase, one product launch at a time.
