Guiyang online fair a new way to boost trade amid virus

Guiyang, capital city of Southwest China's Guizhou province, is embracing a new form of "cloud trade fair" from June 26 to 28 as part of its concerted efforts to nurture new powerhouses for post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

The three day fair will use Guiyang's duty-free online shopping website for livestreaming to introduce goods and process transactions.

It also invited renowned entrepreneurs and professionals in cross-border e-commerce to share their experiences through livestreaming on the fair's official website.

The fair, namely the 2020 Guiyang Import and Export Online Fair, is also broadcasting a video conference featuring discussions about trade and opening-up on Friday on its website, with delegates from various countries' trade and commerce departments.

The fair will also broadcast online discussions on Friday on its website about measures to improve Guiyang's business environment.

In addition to online events, the fair has offline exhibitions of coffees, desserts, Southeast Asian-style fairs, and shows about Guiyang's intangible cultural heritage at Guiyang's tax-bonded G7 square.

Huang Ying, deputy head of the Guizhou Provincial Department of Commerce, said at the fair's launch ceremony on Friday that the fair is a good opportunity to showcase Guizhou's homemade products and brands, and is important to promote stable development for international trade in Guizhou.

Ran Bin, vice-mayor of Guiyang, said on Friday that the fair is an important move to battle the impact of the coronavirus on the city's economy and further promote high-quality development.

Ran said Guiyang will step up efforts to promote integrated development of international trade with middle- to high-end consumption.