President Xi Jinping highlighted on Wednesday China’s commitment to working with countries around the world to jointly uphold the multilateral trading system and ensure the stable and unimpeded operation of global industrial and supply chains.
Xi made the remarks in a congratulatory letter sent to the 140th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, which opened in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Wednesday.
He commended the significant role of the Canton Fair in promoting trade exchanges between China and other countries since its establishment in 1957, saying that it has become an effective platform for China to expand high-standard opening-up and promote the building of an open world economy.
Xi said that under the new circumstances, China is willing to join hands with other countries to expand mutually beneficial international economic and trade cooperation and advance universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, in order to inject fresh momentum into global development and prosperity.
Co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, the fair runs through Nov 4, with more than 30,000 exhibitors and around 340,000 overseas buyers expected to attend.
It features products ranging from consumer electronics and new-type energy storage products, to embodied intelligence products and smart medical equipment, with many cutting-edge Chinese-made products making their debuts at the event, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Premier Li Qiang attended the opening ceremony of the fair and delivered a keynote speech. He highlighted that an increasingly open China that is constantly innovating and honors its commitments will bring new opportunities, provide fresh momentum and inject certainty into the world.
Noting that market connectivity is not a tool for rivalry, but rather an effective approach to creating incremental growth, Li stressed the country’s commitment to promoting the continuous integration and mutual growth of its domestic market and the global market, and to building an open world economy.
As a “super seller” and “super buyer”, China is also committed to delivering more benefits to its neighbors and creating greater prosperity for all parties, he said.
He expressed the nation’s willingness to import more high-quality products, especially those with high added value, from other countries, encouraging more countries to lift restrictions and work with China to actively promote the balanced development of trade.
While underscoring the importance of promoting mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation, Li said that China is always committed to promoting shared development.
Li emphasized that China will continue to promote high-quality development, expand high-standard opening-up, and take active and pragmatic steps to add momentum to the world economy.
The actions will include sharing more market opportunities with other countries, expanding more mutually beneficial cooperation and firmly safeguarding the international economic and trade order, he added.
While further lowering market access thresholds to welcome more foreign enterprises to invest and thrive in the country, China will strengthen alignment of development strategies with other countries and support Chinese enterprises to invest overseas in an orderly manner, Li said.
He also expressed the country’s support for the reform and development of the World Trade Organization, and its willingness to work with all parties to explore future-oriented international economic and trade rules and promote universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala delivered a video address at the opening ceremony, saying that the remarkable development China has achieved offers valuable opportunities for the world.
Noting that the Canton Fair is an important platform connecting China with the world, Okonjo-Iweala expressed the hope that all parties will work together to promote WTO reform and build an open, rules-based global trade system.
Over the past seven decades, the Canton Fair has grown into China’s largest and longest-running international trade fair, with the widest range of products, the largest number of buyers and the highest transaction volume.
China’s trade in goods rose 17.6 percent year-on-year to 34.78 trillion yuan ($5.2 trillion) in the first eight months of 2026, with exports up 14.6 percent and imports increasing 22 percent, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs.
Earlier on Wednesday, Li attended a symposium in Guangzhou, communicating with representatives of overseas buyers and exhibitors.
He noted that in recent years, the enterprises participating in the Canton Fair have engaged in more diversified business exchanges. They are upgrading from mere trade partners to innovation partners that allow for better sharing of the dividends of technological progress, to investment partners that open up more space for incremental market growth, and to supply chain partners that can enhance the ability to prevent risks and withstand shocks, he said.
The foreign representatives said that they are willing to cooperate with China for shared innovation and development.
