Digital commerce
"The biggest feeling is that the Chinese market is huge and resilient, while the power of online sales and cross-border e-commerce is becoming increasingly prominent," Zhang said.
"In the past, many overseas brands relied on offline channels to slowly cultivate the market.
Now, with livestreaming, e-commerce platforms and new-media communication, exhibits can quickly reach a huge number of domestic consumers and truly become 'exhibits into products'," he said.
Many Canadian companies were already looking to develop domestic online channels, Zhang said, adding that the expo was becoming more than a several-day exhibition and instead a platform linking online and offline business throughout the year.
Health and wellness products were among the areas attracting interest from Chinese buyers. Lei said she was looking to establish direct purchasing cooperation with major Chinese platforms through cross-border e-commerce.
Canadian companies were also closely watching China's growing demand in areas including agriculture and food, life sciences, clean energy, artificial intelligence and elderly care.
Zhang said Canadian exhibitors were particularly interested in combining China's silver economy, digital economy and AI applications.
"Many Canadian companies hope to combine the advantages of natural health products with China's digital platforms and AI technology, connect online and offline channels, and explore an integrated model of 'digital + AI + health and elderly care'," he said.
For Canadian businesses seeking to diversify their export markets, participants, especially for Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises, the CIIE is an important platform to open the Chinese market and reduce dependence on a single export market, Zheng said.
Zhang said many Canadian private enterprises hoped to "explore new market space, reduce their dependence on a single market, and reduce the impact of changes in the external environment".
He described China as "a very important direction" for Canadian companies seeking export-market diversification, citing the country's "huge and resilient consumer market".
The business opportunities at the expo also came as China-Canada economic ties showed signs of improvement.
Zhang said the Canadian Chinese community was "sincerely pleased to see the positive changes in bilateral relations".
"The vitality of the market and the power of people-to-people economic and trade exchanges are continuing to play a role in pushing both sides toward each other," he said.
Zheng said she was confident about the future of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, citing the complementarity between China's market and Canada's resources, products and technology.
"The CIIE is not only a window for displaying products, but also a bridge connecting enterprises, markets and the future," Zheng said.
"We are willing to continue playing the role of a bridge and contribute to promoting China-Canada economic and trade cooperation."
gaoyang@chinadailyusa.com
