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Virtual Power Boosts Exports at China Commodities Fair
The use of on-line technology is giving an extra boost to China's exports as E-commerce was seen as an emerging power at the China Export Commodity Fair which closed Thursday.
Many exhibitors used computers to perform the functions of briefing visitors about the company's export markets, volume and product mix.
At the booth of the Guangzhou Art Import and Export Co., a multimedia interactive screen demonstrated changes in color and style of fashion designs.
Chen Jingpeng, the company's exhibition manager, said that the computer installed with a design assistant software can change design and color to suit buyers' demand, which then transmits the message to the company's manufacturing workshop via the Internet.
E-commerce lectures offered by experts at the fair were popular among visitors. The most prominent advertisement slots were been occupied by fledgling e-commerce websites, like MeetChina.com, Made-in-China.com and Alibaba.com. These Internet portals opened special pages for virtual fairs posting information of exhibits.
Hu Chusheng, spokesman with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC), said that the introduction of e-commerce into the export commodity fair in Guangzhou, indicates the future mode of China's foreign trade. Virtual trade has become a complementary component to traditional trade practices at the fair.
He said the elements of e-commerce are expected to bring this largest export commodities fair of the country into a new era.
Despite the increasing exhibition area, reaching 170,000 sq.m. this year, it still inevitably restricted the number of potential exhibitors, the MOFTEC spokesman noted.
Since the 85th session of the biannual event last year, the "On-line Chinese Export Commodities Fair", an Internet service for the export fair, was opened to allow companies with limited exposition space the option of exhibiting their products at a virtual fair.
Machinery exports, which have witnessed the strongest growth momentum in China's export catalogue, usually account for 40 percent of trade at the fair. However, cumbersome machinery is not easily transported and requires large exhibition space. An "on-line machinery export fair" at the fair solved these problems.
Li Huifen, chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce of Mechanic and Electric Products, said that e-commerce has helped China's export of heavy machinery bid farewell to the traditional paper trade. A great deal of direct talks, faxes and calls have been replaced by on-line dealing.
The website www.EC.com.cn opened by the China International Electronic Commerce Center (CIECC) under MOFTEC has classified product information based on industries and has offered clear specifications of products for on-line trading.
"The Chinese government is strengthening its legal system for the development of e-commerce to enable the smooth going of China's emerging e-commerce to meet international practices," said Zhou Xiaobo, a MOFTEC official.
The ministry conducted the transmission of trade documents worth 10 billion U.S. dollars through the Internet last year. the CIECC's website, the first e-commerce network in the country, handled 30 billion U.S. dollars of trade papers in the first eight months of this year.
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