Canton Fair to feature 1st dual offline, online format

China will host the 130th China Import and Export Fair in both offline and online forms from Oct 15 to Nov 3, to boost global trade and its dual circulation development paradigm, the Ministry of Commerce announced.

The event, better known as the Canton Fair, will be hosted in such an integrated format for the first time in its history.

With about 60,000 booths, the fair's exhibition area is 1.19 million square meters, covering 16 categories of products, from consumer goods to manufacturing machinery, according to the ministry.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the past three Canton Fairs were held online.

The China Import and Export Fair started in 1957. It is the country's largest comprehensive trade fair with the longest history, and the largest number of overseas buyers and product categories, according to information from the ministry.