Exhibitors at China's biggest trade show are pinning their hopes on orders from emerging markets to bolster falling export revenues amid the sluggish global economy.
Prospects for global trade this year were 'more challenging and complicated', Liu Jianjun, spokesman for the Canton Fair's organisers, warned on the eve of its opening in Guangzhou.
'Economic recovery remains uncertain amid the lingering European debt crisis, high unemployment in the US, inflation, currency fluctuations and rising trade protectionism,' Liu said. 'The outlook for our nation's foreign trade development is complicated and unpredictable.'
Still, Liu is optimistic about the 111th session of the twice-yearly China Import and Export Fair, as it is officially known, which runs until May 5.
He expects a trade balance can be achieved by cultivating buyers from emerging nations such as India and Brazil.
The fair is expected to attract more than 200,000 buyers and trade volume is expected to match that of last autumn's fair, based on flight bookings and hotel occupancy rates.
Earlier media reports said hotels in the city had been heavily booked for days. Room rates had doubled, with five-star hotels charging between 2,500 yuan and 4,000 yuan a night. Luxury hotels near the Pazhou exhibition area, one of the fair's two massive venues, were already 80 per cent booked. It was also reported that discounted flights were scarce, with some schedules already fully booked.