Canton Fair: China’s new energy exporters abuzz as orders swell, threat of trade curbs looms

China’s largest trade fair is seeing more overseas arrivals and an air of enthusiasm among exporters, with orders up amid high demand for green energy

But talk of overcapacity from US, EU could crash the party, as potential trade restrictions would blunt the market’s growth and scare off buyers

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Exhibitors and visitors at the 135th session of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province. Photo: He Huifeng

Published: 6:00am, 17 Apr 2024Updated: 3:47pm, 18 Apr 2024

Chinese exporters are maintaining a sunny outlook for the year, paying no heed to the storm clouds forming over the domestic new energy industry after allegations of overcapacity by the United States and the European Union – nor the trade restrictions that are likely to come in their wake.

This optimism was on display for the latest session of the Canton Fair, a semi-annual event held since 1957 that serves as a barometer for the state of Chinese exports.

The bullish atmosphere at the fair, which started on Monday, can be credited to a persistent global demand for products aiding in the green transition.

Those sentiments were reflected in the turnout, with a marked increase in those attending from abroad.

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More than 87,800 overseas buyers and around 28,600 Chinese exhibitors – 91 per cent from the private sector – were present for the first two days of the event, fair organisers said. This was an 21.8 per cent increase in overseas participants from the previous session, which ran from October to November.