Canton Fair launches e-commerce service

Organizers of nation's largest trade event expect more transactions

Organizers of the Canton Fair, China's largest twice-yearly trade event and a barometer of its exports, launched an electronic commerce service on Monday to improve trade efficiency.

Liu Jianjun, spokesman for the fair and deputy director of the China Foreign Trade Center, described the service as a big advance against limits previously imposed on the event by space and time.

"Based on the resources of more than 1 million overseas buyers, the e-commerce platform will better serve Chinese exporters in conducting year-round trade with global clients,"Liu said.

"Along with China's efforts in upgrading its manufacturing industry, we are also developing the traditional transaction site at the fair into a more efficient e-commerce platform."

With diversified sales channels for Chinese exporters, Liu said he expects more transactions to be made after the trade fair.

"The e-commerce platform will help reduce trade costs, benefiting Chinese exporters,"Liu said.

With increasing demands from emerging markets, including the Middle East, South America, Russia and Southeast Asia, China's foreign trade will continue to steadily increase this year, according to Liu.

It rose 13.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, with exports increasing 18.4 percent, sources with the customs authority said.

Wang Ruisheng, president of the China Foreign Trade Center (Group), said the fair's e-commerce platform, e-cantonfair.com, will focus on building a creditable system for transactions.

The system will include a credit index for suppliers and buyers based on data sources from the government, banks, commerce associations and credit insurance organizations.

"We have also built a close relationship with import and export insurance organizations to protect the rights of Chinese exporters,"Wang said at the opening ceremony for the e-commerce platform on Monday, on the sidelines of the 113th Canton Fair, or the China Import and Export Fair, in Guangzhou, the Guangdong provincial capital.