The Canton Fair opened a new buyers alliance with 58 companies from 32 countries and regions on Oct. 15, adding a cross-border platform for information sharing and resource coordination, the organizer said.
The China Import and Export Fair is widely known as the Canton Fair; organizers held the ceremony at its complex in Guangzhou as the 140th session got underway. The edition also marked the fair’s 70th anniversary.
The first cohort represents five continents. More than 140 overseas buyers attended the launch, where representatives from five member companies read a joint declaration in their respective native languages.
The organizer says it hopes to draw companies ranked among the Fortune Global 500, purchasing teams from the 250 largest retailers worldwide and leading sourcing enterprises. Members are to receive priority benefits across four areas: services, events, resources and information.
Luís Vilariça, CEO of Joinco, Import & Export, Ltd., described the initiative as a shift toward collective purchasing. “We are moving from navigating trade fairs individually to building a purchasing ecosystem together,” he said in comments published on the fair’s official LinkedIn account.
