As part of its ambitious plans to become the largest online trading platform in China, Canton Fair E-commerce Co Ltd signed a strategic agreement on Oct 15 with Bank of China at the 112th China Import and Export Fair, more widely known as the Canton Fair.

The agreement will deepen cooperation between the two sides and help to achieve long-term development, said Wang Zhiping, deputy-director of the fair and director of the China Foreign Trade Center.

Starting as an exhibitor, the China Foreign Trade Center has grown into an international provider of trade services.

Its Canton Fair E-commerce site, established in July by the trade center and private enterprises in Guangdong province, will help further boost the famed Canton Fair, Wang said, by transforming the spring and autumn event into a year-round matching service for buyers and suppliers.

Bai Zhizhong, head of BOC's Guangdong branch, said the lender "is ready to play a part in accelerating the country's foreign trade and economy using its global service network and diverse financial platform".

Canton Fair E-commerce plans to intensify its core business using an "e-market" approach at first , followed by cloud computing services that include global insurance, freight forwarding, banking and logistics companies.

The plan envisions the portal in its mature stages will be a reputable national e-commerce flagship, combining trading activities with a range of industry information and certification services.

Cf-pay, an online payment service for Canton fair merchants, will offer financial services for domestic suppliers and loans for China's small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as order and financing services for oversea buyers.

Duan Zhonghui, assistant general manager at the Financial Headquarters of Bank of China, officially signed the contract with Liu Jianjun, the vice-president of the China Foreign Trade Center and the president of Canton Fair E-commerce.

Deputy Commerce Minister Jiang Yaoping and Deputy-Secretary General of the Guangdong provincial government Liu Xiaojie also attended the signing ceremony.

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(China Daily 10/23/2012 page14)