140th Canton Fair and the Pearl River International Trade Forum
The 2026 Pearl River International Trade Forum was held at the Canton Fair Convention Center on October 16, as the Canton Fair celebrated its 70th anniversary. Under the theme "Building Mutual Trust and Joining Forces for Shared Success", the forum explored new opportunities for Chinese companies expanding into overseas markets amid a changing global trade landscape, new pathways to integrate trade and investment, and international cooperation among overseas industrial parks. It also highlighted the Canton Fair's role in advancing high-level opening up and promoting an open global economy.
The forum featured an expert dialogue, a thematic session on insights into opportunities, and business matchmaking activities. Together, these sessions formed a comprehensive process linking analysis and insights, practical case studies, and concrete business engagement, helping translate shared perspectives into potential partnerships.
Pascal Lamy, former Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), addressed the forum by video. He described trust as the invisible infrastructure of international trade and recognized the Canton Fair's seven-decade role in connecting China with the world. He expressed hope that all parties would build on the platform to foster more balanced trade relations and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.
Jiang Xiaojuan, professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and former Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council, delivered an in-depth presentation on a new model of "born global" emerging in the age of AI. Unlike the traditional approach, in which companies establish themselves in the domestic market before expanding overseas, this model involves developing technologies, products and services for global markets from the outset. Jiang explained that rapid advances in digital and intelligent technologies, coupled with the upgrading of China's industrial capabilities, are helping usher in this new phase of globalization. She emphasized that companies need to think globally, build trusted brands, pursue mutually beneficial cooperation and meet high international standards of compliance. At the policy level, she called for greater transparency, convenience and predictability in cross-border flows of innovation resources, supported by institutional safeguards for high-standard globalization.
William Huang, Managing Partner of EY China South, observed that globalization is moving toward more diversified and interconnected business models. Chinese companies are moving beyond exporting products to exporting capabilities, including R&D, supply chain management and operational expertise. The Canton Fair, he noted, offers Chinese and international businesses a valuable opportunity to connect face to face, laying the groundwork for long-term, sustainable partnerships.
Zhu Lei, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Gree Electric Appliances, shared the company's experience of participating in the Canton Fair for 31 consecutive years, tracing its evolution from exporting products to jointly developing industrial operations overseas. Gree has pursued deep localization in its international operations. At its factory in Brazil, for example, local employees account for as much as 98% of the workforce, helping the company establish deep roots in the local community.
Jiang Cong, Vice President of Xiaomi Group's International Business Department and General Manager of its AIoT Go-to-Market (GTM) Department, noted that technology-driven companies face distinct challenges in building trust in international markets compared with traditional foreign trade businesses. Their offerings extend beyond individual products to include technology platforms, industrial ecosystems and ongoing services. To earn trust in global markets, companies need strong technological capabilities, rigorous compliance and sustained investment in localization.
From the perspective of an international buyer, Can Yildirim, Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer of Severin, emphasized that "the future of cooperation lies in co-creating value." Drawing on the company's more than three decades of experience in the Chinese market and its roots in Shenzhen, he encouraged Chinese and international businesses to strike a balance between competition and cooperation.
Liang Yutian, Deputy Director of the Institute of International and Regional Studies at Sun Yat-sen University, delivered a presentation on integrating trade and investment, identifying overseas industrial parks as important platforms for bringing the two together. Participants observed that, despite slowing global economic growth and mounting pressures on multilateralism and the international order, openness and cooperation remain the prevailing trend.
Founded in 2021, the Pearl River International Trade Forum was the first high-level forum dedicated to international trade held at the Canton Fair. Against the backdrop of the 140th Canton Fair, which brought together businessmen from around the world, this year's forum provided a platform for dialogue among government, business and academic communities in China and abroad. The consensus reached is expected to help businesses in China and overseas build mutual trust, identify new opportunities in trade and economic cooperation, inclusive and prosperous future for international trade.
Source: Xinhua-AsiaNet/Dataxet
