This year’s spring session of the 127th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) will be conducted online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Chinese exporters are now busy designing websites to present their products online. The fair was previously scheduled to take place between April 15 and May 5, but has been rescheduled for the period from mid to late June. China’s imports and exports were down 9.6% year-on-year to CNY4.12 trillion in the first two months of this year, mainly due to the impact of the global pandemic, according to the General Administration of Customs. “Imports and exports in March were doing better than the previous two months,” said GAC Spokesman Gao Feng. Orders of some export-oriented companies have been canceled or delayed, with new orders being largely affected, Gao said. “In the short term, overseas orders among textile and clothing companies have been particularly affected,” Gao added.

However, some Chinese companies, particularly those with business related to protection and control of the pandemic, have seen an increase of overseas orders recently. After finishing more than 400 seam-sealing machines for the Chinese market in the last two months, Guangzhou Gao Ke Garment-making Equipment Co had begun a new round of production of such machines, most destined for overseas buyers. Wu Fujin, General Manager of Gao Ke, said that as the Covid-19 pandemic now affects most countries and regions around the world, demand for supplies of medical materials has increased dramatically. Wu’s company has received Indian orders for 350 seam-sealing machines, which are vital in producing protective suits. Wu said the Canton Fair to be held online will help companies have better access to the global market by showcasing their products online.

With the help of advanced information technology, companies from all over the world will be able to display their products and conduct negotiations online, as well as place orders and do business from home, according to Li Xingqian, Director of the Ministry of Commerce’s Foreign Trade Department. “Organizing the event online is an innovative development to the traditional fair, as the internet already plays a big role in people’s lives and business activities,” said Li. He added that 25,000 companies from home and abroad will promote their products online, and live video marketing and cross-border e-commerce services will be available to all companies and overseas buyers. “It is not simply a matter of copying the traditional fair on the internet, but a whole new online exhibition structure and re-engineered process,” Li added, as reported by the China Daily.

The Chinese government singled out cross-border e-commerce as a new pillar for China’s foreign trade sector as it rolled out measures to establish 46 new pilot cross-border e-commerce zones in addition to the 59 existing ones. Businesses in such zones enjoy preferential policies such as exemptions on value-added and excise taxes on retail exports. China is also weighing measures to include cities hosting the zones in a pilot program focusing on retail e-commerce imports, and to support businesses that build shared overseas warehouses. The measures are aimed to stabilize foreign trade amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Retail sales by China’s cross-border e-commerce sector were worth CNY186.2 billion last year, up 38.3% year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs. MOFCOM Assistant Minister Ren Hongbin said that private businesses accounted for 89.9% of the country’s e-commerce exports, with over 1,200 overseas warehouses having been established by Chinese businesses. Over 76% of China’s key foreign trade businesses have resumed at least 70% of their production, he added. However, sluggish international demand meant many exporters were faced with challenges such as canceled or delayed orders and hurdles in sea and air logistics. The Ministry will encourage more traditional businesses to go online., it added.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) said that global trade is expected to fall between 13% and 32% this year as the pandemic disrupts normal economic activity around the world. Over 120 countries and regions have imposed restrictions on cargo and passenger flows, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). “The foreign trade sector, directly or indirectly, accounted for the employment of 180 million people. A downturn in foreign trade will almost certainly hit the job market hard,” Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said following a cabinet meeting. The Chinese government emphasized the need to boost the capacity of China-Europe freight train services, including steps to improve the transfer of cargoes and to pick up services previously operated by sea and air transport. But Pan Helin, acting Dean of the Digital Economy Institute at the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Hunan province, warned that e-commerce businesses would also be hit by the crippling of global supply chains, and stronger support measures were needed to protect the sector. Only competitive businesses and resources will survive, he added, as reported by the China Daily.