China's Guangdong plans a domestic version of Canton Fair trade show, but will it pay off?
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The initiative is a key component of a work plan released by the provincial government on Tuesday that aims to strengthen 'domestic circulation' – a strategy focused on boosting China's economic self-reliance by building a robust and unified internal market.
According to the plan, around 20,000 export-oriented enterprises will be mobilised to take part in promotional activities that will channel high-quality export products to the domestic market.
The plan also includes other supportive measures, such as encouraging e-commerce platforms to establish dedicated sections for 'domestic sales of export products', and offering fee reductions to help foreign trade firms set up online stores.
However, industry insiders say there are already too many domestic trade promotion events, and they have done little to address sluggish consumer demand and delayed payments, the fundamental challenges in shifting to domestic sales.
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'Guangdong's new fair continues the aim of supporting foreign trade companies by helping them shift inventory and production capacity towards the domestic market,' said Peng Peng, executive chairman of the Guangdong Society of Reform, a think tank based in Guangzhou, the provincial capital.
The key issue, Peng said, was whether the new fair would be able to replicate the twice-yearly Canton Fair's key benefits to exhibitors – gathering large numbers of genuine buyers and facilitating real transactions – or prove to be merely a symbolic gesture.
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