(Yicai) May 6 -- This year’s first round of the bi-annual China Import and Export Fair, better known as Canton Fair, has attracted a record of 246,000 international buyers from 215 countries and regions.

The number of overseas buyers attending the 135th Canton Fair ended yesterday surged nearly 25 percent from the previous edition, according to official data.

Offline export transactions jumped 11 percent to USD24.7 billion in the period, with the figure for overseas buyers from countries along the Belt and Road Initiative up 13 percent to USD13.9 billion. Online export transactions surged 33 percent to USD3 billion.

“Overseas buyers have spoken highly of the fair, as they think China has the best supply chain and the fair has the best one-stop purchasing platform,” said Zhou Shanqing, director of the Canton Fair’s news center.

Exhibitors showcased over one million products and held 334 new product debut events at the offline Canton Fair, according to statistics. On online platforms, they displayed more than 2.5 million exhibits, including 660,000 new products, 100,000 smart products, 400,000 green and low-carbon products, and 210,000 products with independent intellectual property rights.

A total of 680 companies from 50 countries and regions joined the Canton Fair’s import exhibition this round. The fair also set up a display area for cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses for this round.

Eleven Chinese provincial-level regions organized five cross-border e-commerce comprehensive trial zones, and 150 cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouse companies participated in the fair, creating new opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to go overseas.

The Canton Fair is regarded as the barometer and wind vane of China’s foreign trade. This latest round was held from April 15 to yesterday. The application for booths for the offline export exhibition of the 136th Canton Fair started on May 1.

Editor: Futura Costaglione