GUANGZHOU, Oct. 15 -- The 122nd China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as the Canton Fair, opened in south China's Guangzhou city Sunday, drawing around 25,000 companies as exhibitors.
More than 160,000 types of products are being exhibited at more than 60,000 booths in an area covering nearly 1.2 million square meters, organizers said.
Held in Guangzhou every spring and autumn, the event is seen as a barometer of China's foreign trade.
China's foreign trade has maintained its momentum to stabilize and improve, after with a continuous decline in the past couple of years, said Xu Bing, spokesperson for the fair.
Data from the General Administration of Customs showed the country's foreign trade volume rose 16.6 percent to 20.29 trillion yuan (3.08 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of this year.
Exports increased 12.4 percent to 11.16 trillion yuan, while imports surged 22.3 percent to 9.13 trillion yuan.
The import exhibition zone of the fair has attracted 341 companies from 17 countries and regions participating the Belt and Road Initiative, which was proposed by China in 2013 to connect the vibrant Asian economic circle at one end and Europe at the other, and then extending it further to other regions.
More than 2,000 domestic manufacturers with their own brands attended the event, featuring smart, high-end, low-carbon and customized products.
Haier, a world-leading home appliance producer based in east China's Shandong Province, brought its state-of-the-art models to the fair, including a washing machine that can automatically distinguish fabric and colors and a self-cleaning air conditioner able to purify air.
Zhang Qingfu, a senior executive of Haier's overseas operation, said the company's "revolutionary technology" has boosted export.
From January to August, export of Haier's refrigerators grew by 54 percent year-on-year and that of its washing machines increased by 29 percent, while the sales of smart air conditioners doubled.
Hisense, another home appliance producer, recorded year-on-year growth of 30 percent in the overseas revenues in the first nine months. In Japan, deemed as the most inaccessible market for foreign home appliances, its sales doubled compared with the same period last year.
In order to help with China's anti-poverty battle, from this event to the 128th in 2020, domestic exhibitors from poor regions will be exempted from exhibition fees and a display zone will be dedicated to products from these areas.
More than 500 companies from over 800 poor counties across the country attended the ongoing fair.