(Yicai) Feb. 27 -- The East China Fair, the largest import and export trade fair for textiles, apparel, and light industrial products in the country that will open in Shanghai on March 1, will see the number of booths, exhibitors, and overseas exhibitors all exceed last year's levels.

The four-day East China Fair, also seen as a barometer of the country's foreign trade situation, will include 5,291 booths and 3,325 domestic and foreign firms, with 375 overseas exhibitors from 14 countries and regions, You Yongsheng, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce's foreign trade development department, said at a press conference yesterday. It will likely attract more than 46,000 domestic and foreign professional buyers, You added.

The fair will have clothing and accessories, textile fabrics, household goods, and decorative gifts professional sub-exhibition areas, as well as cross-border e-commerce and overseas exhibition professional exhibition areas, You pointed out, adding that it will cover an area of 115,000 square meters.

To boost the rate of closed deals, the East China Fair will continue last year's practice and set up a dedicated procurement matching zone and hold special matchmaking sessions for clothing and accessories, textile fabrics, household goods, and decorative gifts targeting Europe, the Americas, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, You noted. The initiative provides a platform to connect domestic buyers and international companies, facilitating the import of high-quality products and achieving the goal of "exporting domestic and importing foreign goods," You said.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev