IN spite of intensified trade protectionism and geopolitical tensions, China’s products and market are still appealing to foreign business people. A record-breaking 65 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders participated in the fifth China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in the tropical island province of Hainan in South China. Meanwhile, the Canton Fair in Guangzhou drew 64,530 overseas buyers on its opening day, an 8.9% year-on-year increase and a record high for the first day. This event features major international retailers, including Walmart and Target from the United States, Carrefour from France, Tesco and Kingfisher from the U.K., and Germany’s Metro. According to Niu Huayong, a professor at the International Business School of Beijing Foreign Studies University, the success of this year’s CICPE and Canton Fair highlights that trade and cooperation remain key drivers of global development. All countries benefit from globalization, he said. Amid current global trade turbulence, international buyers attending the Canton Fair still consider Chinese products highly attractive and even irreplaceable. Dinova, a retail company headquartered in France which finds most of its suppliers at the Canton Fair, has made China the core of its global sourcing strategy, according to its general manager Sonia Ben Behe. “We have explored alternative countries, but no other region matches China’s maturity for our product category. That’s why, as part of a global sourcing strategy, China remains at the core,” she said. In addition to the strong appeal of Chinese products to global buyers, international brands also have confidence in China’s consumer market. For this year’s CICPE, top producers from around the world eagerly flocked to Hainan. Global trade uncertainties and growing supply chain disruptions have not prevented foreign investors from remaining optimistic about the Chinese market. China’s market size, rising consumer demand and supportive policies continue to offer unique and strong appeal, helping to retain investor confidence. China’s total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms expanded 1.3% year on year in the first quarter of 2025, demonstrating stable growth and strong resilience despite external headwinds, customs data showed. U.S. tariff increases on Chinese products will exert some pressure on China’s trade and economy in the short term, but won’t alter the Chinese economy’s long-term positive trajectory, said Sheng Laiyun, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics. Zhang Yansheng, an economist with the Academy of Macroeconomic Research, said that based on the trade events in Guangzhou and Hainan, the resilience of China’s foreign trade against the backdrop of growing protectionism in the world is evident. “We can see that foreign business people continue to seek opportunities in China.”(Xinhua) | 