Resilient recovery

"We are excited to showcase our latest customizable robot, capable of lifting nearly 100 tonnes of cargo, at the Canton Fair," said You Jianwen, marketing director of a robotics and automation company in Guangdong.

You added that the company is accelerating its overseas expansion, including setting up a new factory in Detroit and launching new products at the world's leading industrial trade fair Hannover Messe in Germany. The company's total revenue is projected to exceed 600 million yuan ($87.5 million) this year.

Li Xinhua, vice-chairman of Guangdong Triangle Electrical Appliances Holdings Ltd., said the factories are working at full steam to meet the varied demand of global markets, especially in Southeast Asian countries and countries along the Belt and Road.

The resilience, vitality, and transformation of foreign trade rely on thriving industrial economies, said Bai Ming, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce.

The innovative upgrades in the industry can also be seen in the exhibited companies, changes in exhibits, and new product releases at the Canton Fair, Bai added.

According to official data released on Thursday, China's total goods imports and exports expanded 4.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, reversing a decline of 0.8 percent in the first two months of the year.

"The steady growth laid a foundation for promoting stability and improving the quality of foreign trade throughout the year," said Lyu Daliang, an official with the General Administration of Customs.

China will follow the trend of consumption upgrading and actively expand imports, boost industrial transformation and upgrading, promote the coordinated development of trade in goods and services, support innovation in the business patterns of foreign trade, and amplify the interplay between domestic and international markets and resources, said Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng while addressing the opening ceremony of the Canton Fair.