People choose radios during the 120th China Import and Export Fair, or the Canton Fair, in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, Oct 15, 2016. A total of 24,553 enterprises from home and abroad participated in the fair which kicked off Saturday. [Photo/Xinhua]

GUANGZHOU -- Chinese leaders on Saturday lauded the role that the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, played in the country's opening-up.

President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the 120th fair, which began Saturday in Guangzhou, in the southern province of Guangdong.

In the letter, Xi said that the fair's 60-year history was marked by its service to the country's reform and opening-up, modernization and enterprises both at home and abroad.

Under the new circumstances, the fair should make new and greater contributions to the open economy of China and the rest of the world, said Xi.

Xi stressed the fair should innovate its mechanism and business model to facilitate win-win cooperation and common development for all participants.

He also noted the event should strengthen its role as a platform of opening-up for enhanced utilization of markets and resources at home and abroad.

In a written instruction, Premier Li Keqiang said the fair had been a window for China's opening-up and an important platform for Chinese firms to enter the global market.

Li urged the fair to deepen reform and innovation to support efforts of elevating China's opening-up to the next level.

The fair should better help enterprises in market exploration and brand building, while helping to optimize the structure of China's foreign trade, Li noted.

The fair, held every spring and autumn in Guangzhou city, is China's largest.

Some 24,500 enterprises are present at the ongoing 120th fair, which will conclude on Nov 4.

The fair boasts export deals worth 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars and the participation of over 7.6 million overseas buyers in the past 60 years, its organizer China Foreign Trade Center said.