Foreign exhibitors pose for photos at the China Pavilion during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

The exhibition industry has been serving as a key driver of China's economic growth, facilitating domestic enterprises in exploring overseas markets while opening its arms to global players poised to benefit from China's frog-leaping development.

In 2025, a series of China-initiated, globally participated economic and trade events unfolded in succession, of which the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair), the China International Import Expo (CIIE), the China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE), the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), and the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) are the "cardinal five." By hosting these high-end expos, China aims to attract more foreign companies to invest and introduce diverse service-based business models.

The sequential success of these events underscores their complementary roles as two pillars of China's exhibition economy: for instance, the Canton Fair propels "Made in China" globally, while the CIIE introduces worldwide specialties to China, forming a dual-engine strategy that powers the country's high-standard opening-up, as well as the circulation of domestic and international markets.

- China Import and Export Fair -

The China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) has been staged twice a year -- one in the vibrant spring and one in the fruitful autumn -- in Guangzhou since 1957. As the country's longest-running comprehensive international trade event and a barometer of the nation's foreign trade, it plays a pivotal role in boosting the global reach of "Made in China".

A man poses for a photo outside the venue of the 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)

This photo taken on Oct. 15, 2025 shows a scene during the 138th edition of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)

Purchasers talk with an exhibitor at a garment booth at the 137th China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, May 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Guobao)

Purchasers attend the 137th China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, May 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Guobao)

Foreign buyers pose for a group photo with a humanoid robot at the service-robot zone during the 138th Canton Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)

A foreign purchaser tries an exoskeleton robot for mountain climbing at the booth of Hangzhou Technik Technology Co., Ltd. at the Service Robots Zone during the 138th edition of the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Xiao Ennan)