GUANGZHOU, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The 140th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is showcasing smart, green and service-oriented products, with high-tech, customized and low-carbon debuts drawing global buyers and highlighting new opportunities for Chinese manufacturing.
Logistics robots, drink-making robots and pet-companion robots crowded the intelligent robotics area at the fair, which is being held from Oct. 15 to Nov. 4 in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.
At the booth of Hangzhou Taixi Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., buyers lined up to try out a consumer waist-assist exoskeleton. Many overseas buyers held the handrail and shuffled forward, step by step, to feel how the device relieves pressure on their lower limbs.
It is the first flagship product to integrate its human-oriented physical AI technology roadmap, said company founder Liang Linchao. The device uses waist motors and sensors to detect movement and assist lower-limb mobility. Its weight has been cut to about 2 kg, and alongside a refined appearance, algorithms and gait plans tailored to elderly people and hemiplegic patients have been added.
The cluster of cutting-edge smart equipment reflects a broader push toward industrial innovation. At this fair, 64 percent of exhibitors have integrated the industrial internet and artificial intelligence into R&D and production, and new products accounted for 23.2 percent of exhibits, marking a record high.
"At today's Canton Fair, consumer electronics are the dominant category, and tech products such as new energy storage, embodied intelligence and smart healthcare are eye-catching, with many cutting-edge Chinese-made products making their debut," said Zhang Li, an official with the Ministry of Commerce.
Nearby, several European buyers closely watched the scrolling data at DSL Tech Group's booth. The AI-POOL low-chlorine intelligent pool system uses sensor probes to collect the pool's real-time indicators such as residual chlorine, pH level, turbidity and water pressure, and automatically coordinates pumps, disinfection units and sand-filter backwash systems.
Chen Meixiang, the representative of the company, demonstrated on her phone how users can receive alerts about water quality abnormalities from thousands of miles away. The system adjusts automatically, so staff no longer need to visit regularly to take samples and mix chemicals.
"Many overseas private pools used to rely on maintenance workers visiting once a week, and water quality would easily exceed standards," Chen said. These European clients are mainly pool operation and maintenance service providers, attracted by the system's ability to cut manual maintenance costs.
These technology-driven products are also reflected in trade data. Customs statistics show that in the first three quarters of 2026, China's total imports and exports of industrial robots, electronic components, computer parts and electrical equipment exceeded 10 trillion yuan (1.49 trillion U.S. dollars), up 58.9 percent year on year, driving overall import and export growth by 11.3 percentage points.
Liu Chun, president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, said that driven by technological innovation and industrial upgrading, high-tech and high-value-added products are gradually becoming the main growth engine of foreign trade, pushing "China's smart manufacturing" toward the high end of global industrial and value chains.
This service-oriented approach is visible at the booth of Shandong Linuo Paradigma Co., Ltd., where sales staff explained tailored plans to buyers from different continents.
"Africa lacks power and is windy and dusty, so we cut costs and provide solar water-heating systems that are easy to install and run without electricity," a staff member of the company said. "The Middle East wants high quality, so we match energy-saving products with high-standard certification, and South Asia emphasizes large capacity and durability, so we strengthen system adaptability."
The company has set up agent systems and localized service outlets in markets of Belt and Road partner countries, combining Chinese manufacturing, German-partnered technology and global service into a competitive edge.
Beyond individual products, the latest edition of the Canton Fair also features a batch of prefabricated new products, including space capsules, portable integrated kitchens and modular homestay houses. Chinese suppliers are moving from selling parts to selling whole houses, and integrated overseas expansion is supporting a new growth path.
"By launching prefabricated building solutions for cultural tourism camps, we have attracted buyers from Australia, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia among other countries, and more than 300 have reached preliminary agreements. We will continue to use project meetings to deliver full-chain services from planning to design, construction and operation," said Jia Xuehong, planning and design director of Chongqing SUNDON Prefabricated Construction and Technology Co., Ltd.
More and more foreign trade companies are shifting from simply taking orders and shipping goods to building systems and exporting supporting services. At the fair, 36.5 percent of exhibitors have started a transformation of "product plus service."
For the first time, the trade services zone covers all 10 major categories of producer services, including logistics and warehousing, industrial design, overseas operation and maintenance, cross-border investment and financing and other supporting services, building a one-stop support platform for companies expanding overseas.
Yang Jie, secretary-general of the Guangdong Industrial Design Association, said that under an industrial design and R&D approach that runs through the whole life cycle and centers on consumer pain points, more and more Chinese companies are winning favor in more markets by integrating design into the early stages of development and coordinating it with technology to deliver innovative products and solutions.
Green products are another highlight. Amid the global energy transition, green products and low-carbon technologies have become highly sought-after in international markets. At the fair, exhibitor Xiamen HiTHIUM Energy Storage Technology focused on showcasing its flagship long-duration energy storage products, presenting stable and reliable long-duration power supply solutions to overseas buyers.
Wang Pengcheng, co-founder and CEO of the company, said more and more countries and regions are advancing energy structure transition, and the company hopes that through the Canton Fair, the "Chinese solution" for long-duration energy storage can be seen by the world, so that more countries have the option of using stable, green and affordable clean power.
China is enriching global supply with quality green and smart products and helping accelerate the global green, low-carbon and digital and intelligent transition. Over the past decade, China has provided more than 80 percent of the world's photovoltaic modules and 70 percent of its wind power equipment, effectively driving down the cost of global wind and solar power generation.
Commenting on the trend, Liang Yutian, associate dean of the Institute of International and Regional Studies, Sun Yat-sen University, said the concentrated display of new energy, energy storage equipment, green home appliances and other products reflects the global green transition forming new market demand. In the future, around the digital economy, green energy, smart manufacturing and low-carbon technologies, countries can further strengthen technological cooperation, industrial coordination and standards alignment to cultivate new international growth points.
From continuous breakthroughs in hard technology to complete solutions stepping into the spotlight, and green thinking embedded in products, the innovation vitality surging at the Canton Fair illustrates how China's foreign trade keeps cultivating new advantages and deepening its links with the world. ■
