It is reported that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative has brought more business opportunities to the China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as the Canton Fair.
Trade associations reported rises in the number of buyers from countries along the Belt and Road, contributing to transaction growth at the world's largest comprehensive trade fair.
Boosted by market recovery and the Belt and Road Initiative, nearly 80 percent of exhibitors reported increases in buyers, according to the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals & Chemicals Imports & Exports.
An increase in traders from countries along the Belt and Road mirrored the recovery of China's foreign trade.
The General Administration of Customs said the country's foreign trade volume rose 16.6 percent to 20.29 trillion yuan ($3.08 trillion) in the first three quarters of the year.
Exports increased 12.4 percent to 11.16 trillion yuan, while imports surged 22.3 percent to 9.13 trillion yuan.
The number of buyers from the United Arab Emirates, China's second-largest trading partner in the Middle East, increased 5 percent.
The Belt and Road Initiative aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along - and beyond - the ancient Silk Road trade routes. The modern version comprises an overland Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
As the Belt and Road Initiative advances, China has signed a number of infrastructure construction deals with related countries, including Thailand, Bangladesh, Greece and Kenya.
The fair attracted 620 exhibitors from 33 countries and regions, with nearly 60 percent from countries and regions along the Belt and Road, including Egypt, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Thailand.
A total of 100 Turkish firms intended to attend the fair, but due to the exhibition space limit, only half managed to attend, said Gulin, an official with the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. (Source: China Daily)
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