The Canton Fair, also known as the China Import and Export Commodity Fair, has been established since the spring of 1957. It has become a comprehensive international trade event with the longest history, highest level, largest scale, most complete variety of goods, the largest number of visitors and the widest distribution of countries and regions, the best transaction results, and the best reputation in China. It is known as the "First Exhibition of China".
The Canton Fair is held in Guangzhou, China every spring and autumn, jointly hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the People's Government of Guangdong Province, and hosted by the China Foreign Trade Center. The development process of the Canton Fair can be divided into several stages:
The first Canton Fair was held in the spring of 1957 at the former Sino Soviet Friendship Building, showcasing over 10000 types of goods from 13 professional foreign trade headquarters, attracting 1223 buyers from 19 countries and regions to participate. The first year's transaction amount reached 86.86 million US dollars. The first Canton Fair was successfully established and quickly became the main channel for China's export and foreign exchange earnings, opening up a channel for China to communicate with the world.
In the following decades, the site of the Canton Fair underwent several relocations, and the exhibition hall area increased dozens of times, gradually expanding in scale and increasing in influence. The construction of the Uprising Road Exhibition Hall began in 1958. Starting from 1965, the annual export transactions at the Canton Fair accounted for more than 30% of the total annual foreign trade exports in China. In 1972 and 1973, the proportion exceeded 50%. After the completion of the Liuhua Road Exhibition Hall in 1974, the 35th to 103rd Canton Fair was held here.
In 2006, the 100th Canton Fair marked a milestone for the fair. Since the 101st session in the spring of 2007, in order to promote trade balance, the Canton Fair has established import exhibition areas and officially changed its name to the "China Import and Export Commodity Fair".
As of 2024, the Canton Fair has a history of over 60 years. During this period, it not only promoted economic and trade relations between China and countries around the world, but also became an important symbol of China's opening up and integration into the world economy.