GUANGZHOU - The 134th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) concluded Saturday in Guangzhou, the capital of southern Guangdong province, with export deals worth $22.3 billion in total signed offline.

The value is 2.8 percent higher than that in the previous Canton Fair, said Xu Bing, a spokesperson for the fair.

The participating enterprises signed deals totaling $12.27 billion with their business partners from Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries, up 2 percent compared with the previous fair, Xu said.

As of Friday, overseas purchasers from 229 countries and regions attended the fair online or offline. The fair saw nearly 198,000 overseas purchasers offline, 6.4 percent more than the number in the 126th Canton Fair held in 2019.

"More overseas purchasers attended the Canton Fair this year and placed orders actively, which has further enhanced the confidence of enterprises in foreign trade next year," said Xu.

In terms of import, 650 enterprises from 43 countries and regions participated in the import exhibition of the fair, of which 60 percent were from the BRI partner countries, according to Xu.

Launched in 1957 and held twice yearly, the fair is considered a major gauge of China's foreign trade.