Belt and Road countries are China's dynamic trade partners

People visit the China Import and Export Fair, or the Canton Fair, in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, April 15, 2017. The 121st Canton Fair kicked off on Saturday.[Photo/Xinhua]

More than half of foreign buyers and exhibitors at this year's spring Canton Fair, or 121st China Import and Export Fair, are from Belt and Road countries, organizers said.

Karn Chopra is a new buyer from India. This trip is the young man's first to the Canton Fair.

Karn said the fair is helpful to his business.

Although the young man said he knows little about the Belt and Road Initiative, he believes that trade between China and India will increase in the future.

"I think China and India are important trading partners." he said.

Because China is the world's second-largest economy and India has remarkable market potential, the bilateral business cooperation enjoys great development potential.

At present, some Chinese smartphone vendors, such as Xiaomi, have increased investment in the Indian market.

Last year, the China-India trade volume reached $70 billion.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a win-win project for China and these countries; they can achieve cooperation in many areas such as infrastructure and trade, a Russian buyer said.

The Belt and Road Initiative not only provides business opportunities to foreign companies, but also drives Chinese companies to search for deals in these countries.

Visitors from the Belt and Road countries have increased significantly, and orders from these countries are expected to reach a record, most Chinese exhibitors said.

The Belt and Road countries will be primary markets for our company in the future, said a man who works for Canca Group.

As the Belt and Road Initiative is being implemented, more Chinese products are being sold in countries along the Belt and Road.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is good. It helps our products to be exported to more countries along the routes," said Feng Xiaoli, sales manager for a tech company in Shenzhen. "Moreover, because logistics are improving, and the products go through customs quicker, our clients in these countries can receive our products faster."

According to the Belt and Road Big Data Center of the State Information Center, China's total value of trade with Belt and Road countries was about $953.59 billion in 2016, amounting for 25.7 percent of the total of China's foreign trade.

Benefited by the Made in China 2025 strategy, Chinese products with high quality and high technology are becoming popular at the fair.

A Singaporean buyer said China's high-end products already can compete with famous brands in the world, and "the people in my country also like Chinese products".

As China's largest trade fair, it continues to attract those in business from around the world.

Most exhibitors from small and medium enterprises said the Canton Fair is still a good platform for them to show their products to the world.

Xu Bing, spokesman for the Canton Fair, said the number of participants will be almost flat from last year because emerging economies, such as Russia and India, are seeing strong growth, and spring is the buying season in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.