At the 137th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) and the 5th China International Consumer Goods Expo (Consumer Expo), it was crowded and exciting; China's gross domestic product (GDP) growth exceeded expectations in the first quarter, and the scale of China's imports and exports hit a record high in the first quarter...... At a time when global trade is facing great chaos and high uncertainty caused by the US government's indiscriminate tariffs, these good news from China have brought confidence and hope to the world.

Good news from China

China is the world's largest country in trade in goods and second in services, and is the driving force, anchor and ballast of global economic recovery.

"During the exhibition, many international buyers from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America expressed a strong intention to cooperate with our agricultural unmanned equipment, and some buyers directly expressed clear procurement needs."

"The new customer in Argentina has just reached a cooperation intention of 80,000 freezers, and is ready to go to the factory in Shangqiu for in-depth inspection after the exhibition; An old customer in Africa decided to place an additional order and is currently negotiating a $20 million cooperation. ”

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These are the voices from the Canton Fair.

On April 19, the first phase of the 137th Canton Fair with the theme of "advanced manufacturing" came to an end. According to the China Foreign Trade Center, the organizer of the Canton Fair, as of April 19, 148585 overseas buyers from 216 countries and regions around the world have attended the fair, an increase of 20.2% over the same period of the 135th session. The Canton Fair will be held in three phases from April 15 to May 5.

A stir-fry robot that turns on automatic cooking with one click, a four-legged robot dog that can be cute and cute, can patrol the whole house, and can also deliver medicine to the elderly, and a lightweight, easy-to-use, and airborne camera suitable for all ages......

These are the surprises from the Expo.

On April 18, the six-day 5th CICG closed. This year's CICGF attracted more than 1,700 companies and more than 4,200 brands from more than 70 countries and regions around the world, including 65 of the world's top 500 companies and leading enterprises, and the scale of participation reached a record high. There were more than 60,000 professional buyers at this year's Consumer Expo, an increase of more than 10% compared with the fourth edition.

Recently, China also released a set of blockbuster economic data: China's National Bureau of Statistics released data, preliminary calculations, GDP in the first quarter of this year increased by 5.4% year-on-year. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, the scale of China's imports and exports in the first quarter hit a record high for the same period in history, exceeding 10 trillion yuan for eight consecutive quarters.

Agence France-Presse reported that China's GDP grew 5.4% year-on-year in the first quarter, which was higher than expected. CNN also reported that this was "unexpectedly strong growth", significantly higher than the expectations of more than 50 economists polled by Reuters.

"Facts have proved that as long as our policies are effective, and at the same time we insist on deepening reform and expanding opening up, we will be able to develop in the expected direction." He Maochun, director of the Economic Diplomacy Research Center of Tsinghua University, said, "On September 26 last year, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee decisively deployed a package of incremental policies, which played a key role in stabilizing the economy. China is the world's largest country in trade in goods and second in services, and is the driving force, anchor and ballast of global economic recovery. ”

China's economic resilience is highlighted

China's strong industrial capacity, efficient global supply chain coordination, and growing competitiveness make it resilient to challenges.

Brazil's 247 news network reported that in the face of the tense global trade situation, China plays the role of an "anchor of stability" in global trade. Analysts point out that China's strong industrial capacity, efficient global supply chain coordination and increasing competitiveness have made it resilient in the face of challenges. According to the report, relevant data shows that China is actively responding to the current global trade tensions through measures such as market diversification and expanding domestic demand. In the first quarter of this year, ASEAN continued to be China's largest trading partner, with imports and exports increasing by 7.1% year-on-year. China's imports and exports to the EU increased by 1.4% year-on-year. China has also continued to deepen its economic and trade relations with its Belt and Road partners. In the first quarter of this year, China's imports and exports to the Belt and Road countries reached 5.26 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.2%, and the scale hit a new record high in the same period, accounting for 51.1% of China's foreign trade.

"As a window to share China's opportunities, the Canton Fair is a big stage for many companies to showcase their innovative achievements to the world. At present, in the face of the complex international situation, many enterprises are exploring new market opportunities, while adjusting and upgrading their products, and continuously improving the industrial chain and supply chain network. Zhou Mi, a researcher at the Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, believes that the Canton Fair will allow more foreign merchants to understand China's innovation and "intelligent manufacturing" level.

As the world's second largest consumer market, China has introduced a series of policies to expand domestic demand and promote consumption, stabilizing and expanding household consumption and promoting economic stability and improvement. The 2025 Government Work Report proposes to implement special actions to boost consumption. With the implementation of a series of relevant policies and measures, China's consumer market will usher in greater development opportunities and create more space for global enterprises to share the Chinese market.

An article on the website of Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" also pointed out that after an all-round game with the United States in the past few years, although China's economic growth has slowed down, it has not been fundamentally impacted, and significant progress has been made in economic restructuring, economic resilience has been further improved, and scientific and technological strength has also been continuously enhanced. At the same time, China's industrial and supply chain autonomy and market substitution capabilities have also been significantly improved in the past few years.

"China plays an irreplaceable and important role in the global trade landscape. China has earnestly fulfilled its commitment to reduce tariffs when it joined the World Trade Organization, and there are fewer and fewer barriers to market access. On December 1, 2024, China will grant zero-tariff treatment to 100% of products under tariff lines to all least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations. China adheres to reform and opening up and has become a major trading partner of more than 150 countries and regions. He Maochun said, "China's advantages include: first, China's economy is strong and resilient; Second, there is a strong stickiness between China and its trading partners; Third, China has institutional advantages and is unswervingly committed to further deepening reform in an all-round way and opening wider to the outside world. ”

Confidence and hope

China will continue to promote high-level opening-up, steadily expand institutional opening-up in terms of rules, regulations, management and standards, and share development opportunities with other countries in the world to achieve mutual benefit and common development.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) recently sharply lowered its global merchandise trade forecast from "solid growth" to "decline", saying that the US tariffs would have serious consequences and create ongoing uncertainty.

At present, the U.S. government is wantonly abusing tariffs, creating great chaos and high uncertainty around the world, and undermining the global economic order and development trend. The good news from China has given the world more hope for China.

The Canton Fair has become the focus of global merchants looking for new opportunities. According to Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" website, in the case of large tariffs imposed by the United States, Canton Fair exhibitors expect to use this exhibition to connect with Europe, ASEAN, Latin America, the Middle East and other markets and reduce their dependence on the US market.

"The holding of the CICG has played an increasingly important role in boosting global consumption, providing a window for global consumer goods to enter the Chinese market, creating opportunities for China's high-quality consumer goods to go global, and promoting the supply and demand docking of the global consumer market." Xu Xiujun, director and researcher of the Sino-foreign Comparative Research Department of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Chinese Modernization, pointed out in an article that "the successful holding of the CICG has built a bridge of exchange and cooperation for Chinese and foreign enterprises, and created a consumption hub of 'buying and selling globally', which not only demonstrates China's determination to expand high-level opening-up, but also injects confidence into the global economic recovery." “

The report of France 24 News also emphasized that China plays an important role in the global trade pattern. The report pointed out that the European Commission believes that China's importance in balancing global trade and capital flows should not be underestimated. China's capacity adjustment in steel, photovoltaic and other fields will directly affect the asset allocation of European industrial funds. At the same time, the shift in China's trade capital has created structural opportunities. As the world's largest manufacturing and exporting country, China has played a crucial role in a series of recent trade restructurings, and its policy choices and market trends will directly affect the industrial stability and economic layout of other regions.

"In recent years, China's contribution to global economic growth has remained at about 30%, and it is an important engine of world economic growth. China is a staunch defender and stabilizer of the global multilateral trading system, advocates inclusive economic globalization, and is committed to promoting global development through trade. China will continue to promote high-level opening-up, steadily expand institutional opening-up in terms of rules, regulations, management and standards, and share development opportunities with other countries in the world to achieve mutual benefit and common development. China will also strengthen communication and actively cooperate with relevant international organizations to jointly promote global cooperation. "Of course, we also have to do our own thing, for example, continue to expand domestic demand, independently develop the domestic industrial chain and supply chain system, and make better use of the Internet and artificial intelligence technology." Only by doing its best can China better contribute to the world. (Reporter Zhang Hong)

Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition