An exhibition on cross-border e-commerce is expected to become a new attraction at the 13th China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair (CISMEF) in October.

Lin Zhiyong, vice-president of Guangdong Asia-Pacific E-Commerce Institute, said the exhibition, which will take place in Guangzhou next month, will provide a good platform for Sino-foreign SMEs to expand their cooperation and further explore markets at home and abroad.

"Cross-border e-commerce is enjoying a rapid growth globally and is expected to play an increasingly important role in helping SMEs upgrade their technologies and production and expand their presence in the market in the years to come," Lin said at a press conference in the Guangdong provincial capital on Sept 1.

"Domestic and foreign SMEs should seize the good opportunities (to expand their cooperation and go international) during the exhibition which has attracted participants from major e-commerce giants from home and abroad," Lin said.

According to the organizers, Amazon and China's e-commerce giants, Alibaba and JD.com, will participate in the exhibition, seeking to expand their presence in Chinese and overseas markets.

Meanwhile 10 major e-commerce companies from Russia and many companies from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have promised to attend the event, said Lin.

"The vast Russian market offers great potential for Chinese SMEs to expand due to good Sino-Russia relations," Lin said.

To help domestic and foreign SMEs expand their businesses and improve cooperation, a series of business leader summits, trade talks, forums and lectures on development trends in the e-commerce sector will be held during the exhibition.

According to Lin, domestic and foreign e-commerce companies have shown great interest in attending the exhibition, with most of the standard booths booked a month in advance.

(China Daily 09/06/2016 page17)