Fair shadowed by weak exports

Orders placed at China's largest international trade fair, running from Tuesday through May 5, will likely stabilize in the shadow of recent sharp export declines.

The Canton Fair - officially known as the 115th China Import and Export Fair - is expected to draw 200,000 international buyers, up from more than 180,000 in the autumn session when there was a drop-off in numbers, said Liu Jianjun, deputy director-general of China Foreign Trade Center under the Ministry of Commerce.

Chinese exports unexpectedly fell 6.6 percent year-on-year in March from a year earlier, following an 18.1 percent slide in February. Imports fell by the most in 13 months. China's official target is a 7.5 percent increase in trade this year. The biannual trade gala is generally seen as a barometer for China's economy.