China’s Main Trade Fair Struggles to Lure Buyers as Global Growth Slows
- Contract levels fall short at the Spring Canton Fair
- Lackluster demand from the US and Europe stall export efforts
China’s largest trade fair was meant to be a triumphant return for the world’s biggest manufacturing nation after three years of being mostly online. Instead, the mood was downbeat as factories grapple with a slowing global economy and a scarcity of US buyers.
The semi-annual event known as the Canton Fair kicked off on April 15, just as Chinese officials embarked on a charm offensive to lure foreign investors back after three years of Covid Zero policies that prevented in-person visits. However this year only $25.1 billion in transactions were agreed, according to a statement on Saturday after the end of the fair, which saw thousands of vendors displaying goods ranging from toys to electronics in a mammoth convention center in the southern city of Guangzhou.