Record-setting 136th Canton Fair concludes

The 136th China Import and Export Fair, or the Canton Fair, wrapped up on Monday in Guangzhou in southern China.

The three-phase event was held from Oct 15 to Nov 4, focusing on advanced manufacturing, quality home goods, and lifestyle products.

With an exhibition area covering 1.55 million square meters in total and featuring 74,000 booths across 55 exhibition zones and 171 specialty sections, the latest fair drew over 30,000 exhibitors on site.

More than 1.15 million new products were displayed, including 390,000 digital and smart items, reflecting a 300 percent increase from the previous fair, along with over 1.04 million eco-friendly, low-carbon products, marking a 130-percent-rise from the previous fair.

The fair also featured 400 new product launches, up over 30 percent from the last edition.

As of Sunday, attendance reached an all-time high with 253,000 international buyers from 214 countries and regions, reflecting a 2.8-percent-increase from the previous fair and exceeding the 250,000 mark for the first time.

The fair also recorded an intended export turnover of 24.95 billion U.S. dollars, representing a 1-percent-increase from the last edition.

The 137th Canton Fair is scheduled for April 15, 2025, with exhibitor recruitment and investment promotion efforts already underway.

Launched in 1957, the biannual Canton Fair is China's largest trade fair and widely seen as a barometer of the country's foreign trade. It takes place every spring and autumn in Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong in south China, typically featuring three phases per session.

Record-setting 136th Canton Fair concludes

A Chinese-built water supply project was officially handed over to the Angolan government in Cabinda Province on Monday and is predicted to benefit more than 600,000 people in the country.

Built by China Railway 20th Bureau Group Corporation Limited (CR20) since 2017, the Cabinda water supply project is the largest livelihood project invested by Angola in the province and represents the most advanced, intelligent, and modern water supply system in the country.

For many years, residents of Cabinda Province suffered from water shortage due to a lack of infrastructure, with most of them relying on water delivery trucks for daily usage.

Now, the project is expected to help solve the local water shortage problem and allowed many villagers to directly access tap water for the first time, said Yuan Xuefeng, the operation and maintenance manager of Cabinda water supply project.

"After being approved and delivered, the project can benefit 90 percent of the residential areas in Cabinda Province and meet the water needs of 600,000 people, greatly improving local residents' plight of water scarcity and poor water quality," explained Yuan.

The water supply project is comprised of 74 centralized points, with the capacity to supply 50,000 cubic meters of water per day. Throughout its construction period, over 1,000 employment opportunities were generated by the construction company for individuals in Cabinda Province.

China-aided water supply project in Angola completed