Intl toy expo to kick off in Shenzhen in early April

"More than 2,000 professional buyers from abroad have contacted us in the past couple of months so as to get ready for their visit," Li disclosed.

"The whole industry at home and abroad seems to be kicking it into high gear to do bigger business at this year's expo," he said.

The last session, held in August 2022, witnessed the active attendance of exhibitors and buyers despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with a total of 1,326 enterprises and 50,437 professional buyers attending, according to the organizer.

Li said that they have made a point of inviting new distributors to this year's event. Domestic buyers that have registered for the expo include those from leading e-commerce platforms such as Tmall, JD, Fresh Hema and Vip.com. Other buyers include shopping malls and department stores, cinemas, bookstores, TV stations, tutoring and stationery outlets, and chain stores.

"China boasts advanced technology and equipment for toy manufacturing and has a larger pool of human resources. Its industrial chain is better developed and there is guaranteed delivery. I think global companies prefer to order from China," he said. "This will remain unchanged at least for the coming decade."

Being China's major base for the manufacture and export of toys, Guangdong has reported 128.05 billion yuan ($18.64 billion) worth of toy exports in 2022, up 9.5 percent from 2021, customs statistics indicated.

Buyers examine the exhibits on site during the 2022 Shenzhen International Toy & Education Fair. [Photo provided to guangdong.chinadaily.com.cn]