On the morning of June 15, China’s largest and most comprehensive international trade fair, the 127th Canton Fair or China Import and Export Fair in 2020, was held online for the first time in its 62-year history due to ongoing global travel restrictions related to the pandemic. Regarding this year’s Canton Fair as an important practice to find opportunities to stabilize foreign trade, Changzhou organized a large number of enterprises to participate in the exhibition.

In the morning, the staff of Changzhou based Globe Tools Co., Ltd. Started promoting their products in the company’s live streaming studio. In recent years, relying on product R&D and technological innovation, Globe Tools ranked first in the market of new energy gardening equipment, maintaining strong relations with many European and American customers. However, the company’s export businesses have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic this year. Taking into account that the online exhibition would be conducive to companies displaying new products and attracting new customers, Globe Tools launched eight series of upgraded products and set up three booths for live streaming. The company’s CEO Zhuang Jianqing introduced that instead of being held at the Guangzhou International Convention & Exhibition Center as in previous years, this year’s edition of the Canton Fair takes place entirely in an online trading platform, which removes the cost, travel, and time restrictions for attendees. Moreover, the online platform allows for virtual face-to-face interaction for better and more efficient communication and negotiation.

This year, Changzhou established a trading group with 254 exhibitors and 472 booths, accounting for 9.5% of Jiangsu province. The city's commerce departments also organized training courses for the participating enterprises to improve their live streaming skills and enhance their awareness of intellectual property protection.