Exhibitors and buyers at the China International SME Fair, which opens on Monday in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, are expected to find development solutions, make business partners and tap market potential around the world.

Since 2004, the annual fair has developed into one of the largest of its kind in China and a major platform for small and medium-sized businesses to exchange globally.

This year it recorded 2,960 domestic and overseas exhibitors, who take up 7,315 stands. This is up 28 percent from the planned 5,700, according to the organizing committee.

"The fair attracted more exhibitors than we had expected," said Wu Hong, deputy director-general of the secretariat of the fair's organizing committee, in a news briefing on Thursday.

Six hundred and fifty overseas exhibitors from 38 countries and regions, including two international organizations, acquired 1,062 exhibit stands, Wu noted.

She added that more than 40,000 people preregistered for visit, procurement and business talks.

Malaysia is acting as the co-host country of the fair for the second time. It organized 46 Malaysian exhibitors, covering a variety of sectors including food and beverage, health, beauty, fashion, lifestyle, automotive, machinery, education and tourism, said Zaimah Osman, trade consul of the Consulate General of Malaysia in Guangzhou.

About 500 Malaysian companies have exhibited at the fair since 2015, she said. Osman said China has been the largest trading partner of Malaysia for 10 consecutive years and the biggest contributor of approved foreign investments into Malaysia's manufacturing sector last year.

"We encourage more Chinese companies to invest in Malaysia, especially in the quality and export-related manufacturing sector and Industry 4.0," said Osman. Industry 4.0 is the name given to the trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies.

Ye Dingda is deputy director general of the SME bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, one of the organizers.

He said the fair this year will attach importance to providing solutions to SMEs and help them explore markets.

To alleviate financial problems for SMEs, the fair will organize matchmaking activities between SMEs and financial institutions.

So they can find the best and cheapest solutions to quench the financial thirst of SMEs, even outside China, said Ye.

There will also be a forum focusing on how the capital market can assist the innovative development of SMEs.

Financial experts will share their observations, analysis, experience and suggestions while projects will meet with capital to improve their efficiency, he noted.

The organizing committee of the fair has used all channels to invite more than 30,000 professional buyers from across the country to meet with domestic and foreign exhibitors and suppliers to increase on-site transactions, said Ye.

Also, an online version of the fair is being launched to provide a permanent portal for SMEs to showcase their profile and promote their products and services to global buyers, he said.

As of June 17, more than 1,400 exhibitors registered with the online platform.

June 27 was designated Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day by the United Nations in 2017 to recognize the importance of these companies.

To mark the occasion, the fair will hold a meeting and invite Li Yong, director-general of the UN Industrial Development Organization, as well as officials from foreign delegations to share their experiences supporting the development of SMEs, according to the organizing committee. The UNIDO has co-hosted the fair for three years in a row.

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(China Daily 06/24/2019 page12)