Minister: Keep stable foreign trade

Commerce Minister Chen Deming (left) and Governor Huang Huahua officiate the full use of the new complex on Monday. Photo by Guo Xiaohong

By Meng Shujuan

Commerce Minister Chen Deming said on Monday the Ministry of Commerce will pay more attention to the role of the China Import and Export Fair as a platform and safeguard the stable development of China's foreign trade with enhanced service and more policy support.

Speaking at a ceremony to celebrate the full use of the new complex for the 104th session of the fair and commemorate the 30th anniversary of China's reform, Chen said the full use of the complex will provide more opportunities to both exhibitors and buyers from home and abroad.

He said as an important window, Canton Fair has played a vital role in promoting the country's trade with the outside world, and is growing steadily along with China's reform and opening-up which has brought "earth-shaking" changes to the nation.

The fair hosted the grand ceremony at Pazhou Complex on Monday morning to mark the occasion, which was attended by Chen himself, Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua, who is also the president of the 104th Canton Fair, Guangdong Vice-governor Wan Qingliang and chaired by Zhang  Zhigang, deputy director general of Canton Fair and chairman of the Council of China Foreign Trade Centre which organizes the fair.

Chen noted that 30 years ago when China fi rst initiated its reform and opening-up, the fair only had an exhibition area of 130,000 square meters, and attracted 18,000 buyers with a transaction volume of $1.88 billion. Today, the 103rd session witnessed 192,000

foreign buyers, bringing in an export volume of $38.23 billion.

With the full use of the new complex, he said, Canton Fair is expanding its exhibition area to 1.131 million square meters, brining in more chances to exhibitors and foreign buyers.

With improved management and service for the perfect hardware, the fair will become a foreign trade platform with improved mechanism, more scientifi c management, more outstanding effect and greater infl uence, the minister said.

As the current world fi nancial crisis is spreading to concrete economy and the world economy is slowing down in growth, Chen said, the ministry will pay more attention to the role of Canton Fair in a bid to safeguard the stable growth of China's foreign trade

through enhanced service and more policy support.

Guangdong Governor Huang said Canton Fair is the "golden signboard" of China's foreign trade sector, and has played "irreplaceable" contribution to promoting the development of China's reform and opening-up.

Experts say with the full opening of the Pazhou Complex, Canton Fair is embarking on a new stage.

(Source: Canton Fair News)