Canton Fair opens door to foreign companies to tap opportunities
Print Edition
The Canton Fair, which ended yesterday in the economic hub of Guangdong Province, has given foreign businesses, especially those from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a valuable chance to explore market opportunities.
Malaysian entrepreneur Cindy Chong came to China’s largest trade event eager to find a dealer for her food products — halal chicken jerky, cooking paste, organic snacks and beverages — in the country.
At the fair in Guangzhou, Chong said she is confident about the market potential although this is only her second trip to China.
“I also attended the Halal Food Festival in Urumqi in September. All the samples I brought were sold out in the first morning,” Chong recalled with excitement.
The Canton Fair is seen as a barometer for China’s foreign trade. After an international pavilion was set up at the fair six years ago, it has also become a ground for foreign businesses to sell their products in China.
China’s trade with emerging markets has witnessed some fluctuations in recent years due to the sluggish recovery of the world economy and the continuous spillover from developed countries’ tapering of monetary easing measures. However, its trade with ASEAN members has maintained a stable growth.
The total volume of China-ASEAN trade in the first three quarters of the year hit US$322.36 billion, up 11.6 percent year on year, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs.
In contrast, China-US trade volume increased by 6.7 percent, and those of China-EU and China-Japan fell by 0.8 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively, during the same period.
Anna Liew Sook Fern, an assistant manager of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corp, helped 38 companies in her country to participate in the Canton Fair.
Liew believes that despite the growth in the past 10 years, which was termed a “golden decade” by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the 10th China-ASEAN Expo, China still has much for ASEAN businesses to explore in the next 10 years, a period labeled the “diamond decade.”
“For example, some Malaysian companies have strong ties with their counterparts in south China due to geographical and historical reasons. But now more and more Malaysian people are also paying much attention to the inland of China, especially the west, where there is an Islamic cultural background,” Liew explained.
Experts say the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) in 2010 has played an essential role in countering the lingering economic crisis, and the streamlined procedures and reduced costs greatly encourage businesses in CAFTA to enhance cooperation in both trade and investment.
Tham Sun Weng, a buyer for the Philippine importer Teambuilder Company, said the company has benefited a lot from the zero tariffs brought by CAFTA, the world’s largest free trade area among developing nations.
Suresh Kumar, the Malaysian commercial counselor in Guangzhou, said China has become the largest importer and exporter of his country.
“Malaysia’s exports to China keep rising by double digits, and the increase in the first three quarters this year was around 18 percent,” Kumar said. “Thanks to the free trade agreement, tariffs on over 9,000 product categories are zero or under 5 percent.”
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