(Yicai) April 2 -- This year's first round of the bi-annual Canton Fair has attracted 28,600 companies to take part in the export exhibition, with more than 4,300 attending the event for the first time, according to China’s vice minister for commerce.

Some 93,000 buyers from 215 countries and regions have pre-registered for the fair, Wang Shouwen, who is also deputy international trade representative, said yesterday. More than 220 leading firms and industrial and commercial institutions have confirmed that they will be sending delegations, he added.

The 135th Canton Fair, officially known as the China Import and Export Fair, will be held in Guangzhou, Guangdong province from April 15 through May 5. The next fair will be in October.

Most overseas buyers attending the fair are in electronics and home appliances, lighting and electricals, industrial manufacturing, gifts and decorations, and fashion, noted Chu Shijia, director general of China Foreign Trade Center.

The number of top 250 global and regional firms has also increased, Chu said. US' Walmart, France's Auchan, and Mexico's Coppel will send delegations of more than 100 people each to the fair, while Japan's Nitori Holdings will send over 200 representatives, Chu added.

India, the United States, Nigeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Germany will have the most buyers at the fair this year. The numbers are up 5.9 percent for countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 13.8 percent for those in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, 13.9 percent for the US, 62 percent for Middle East nations, and 70 percent for countries in the Belt and Road Initiative.

About 90 percent of Chinese embassies and consulates have cut visa issuance times to just four working days to make it more convenient for overseas buyers to attend the Canton Fair, Wang noted.

An increasingly higher percentage of intermediate goods are being imported and exported due to China integrating deeper into globalization, illustrated by the Canton Fair, which is seen as a barometer of foreign trade.

The fair mainly showcases consumer goods, but the share of intermediate and capital goods has grown to 12 percent in recent years, Wang said. The size of booths in the machinery exhibition area where capital goods are displayed has increased more than 50 percent over the past five years, he noted.

Editor: Martin Kadiev