Convention and exhibition businesses in Guangdong province have shown strong recovery since early this year, with a significant increase seen both in exhibition numbers and area, according to the local industry association.

The number of exhibitions in Guangdong increased 330 percent year-on-year to 116 in the first three months, with exhibition areas soaring 412 percent year-on-year during the same period to 4.36 million square meters, said the Guangdong Fairs Organizers Association.

"Such a big increase reflects the vitality of the industry, which helps to greatly boost the confidence of relevant companies," said Liu Songping, chairwoman of the association, adding that the two quarterly figures have exceeded the 2019 levels.

"As an important link in the industrial and supply chains, professional industrial exhibitions play an important role in connecting the supply side with the demand side," said Liu.

A "grand show" of advanced manufacturing, industrial exhibitions are key to the transformation and upgrading of the traditional manufacturing industry, helping to shape new driving forces and advantages, Liu added.

China hosted 1,807 economic and trade exhibitions in 2022, with a total exhibition area of 55.76 million sq m, according to a report by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

Major exhibitions, including the China International Import Expo, the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair), the China International Fair for Trade in Services and the China International Consumer Products Expo, have built international cooperation platforms for countries and regions to share economic and trade opportunities and enhance exchanges.

In 2022, the CCPIT organized 13 overseas exhibitions, including 12 online and one offline, with the value of intended deals surpassing $70 million.

With the recovery of China's economy, exhibitions themed on the promotion of traditional consumption, development of service consumption, cultivation of new consumption and advocacy of green and low-carbon consumption will achieve rapid growth, the CCPIT said.

Citing the sharply increased number of visitors to the first phase of the Canton Fair, Zhang Jieheng, secretary-general of the Guangzhou International Convention & Exhibition Association, said the fair demonstrated the enormous vitality and resilience of the country's trade.

The fair's first phase, which concluded on April 19, witnessed more than 1.25 million visitors from 229 countries and regions, with nearly 13,000 companies displaying over 800,000 products, according to the organizers.

The ongoing second phase of the fair focuses on the promotion of consumer goods, furniture and home decor, attracting about 12,000 companies to showcase their latest innovative and high-quality products.

Guangzhou, the provincial capital, hosted 56 professional exhibitions in the first three months, with a total exhibition area of some 1.93 million sq m.