WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala delivered a video address at the opening ceremony, saying that the remarkable development China has achieved offers valuable opportunities for the world.

Noting that the Canton Fair is an important platform connecting China with the world, Okonjo-Iweala expressed the hope that all parties will work together to promote WTO reform and build an open, rules-based global trade system.

Foreign participants talk ahead of the opening ceremony of the 140th China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou on Wednesday. WANG ZHUANGFEI/CHINA DAILY

Over the past seven decades, the Canton Fair has grown into China's largest and longest-running international trade fair, with the widest range of products, the largest number of buyers and the highest transaction volume.

China's trade in goods rose 17.6 percent year-on-year to 34.78 trillion yuan ($5.2 trillion) in the first eight months of 2026, with exports up 14.6 percent and imports increasing 22 percent, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs.

Earlier on Wednesday, Li attended a symposium in Guangzhou, communicating with representatives of overseas buyers and exhibitors.

He noted that in recent years, the enterprises participating in the Canton Fair have engaged in more diversified business exchanges. They are upgrading from mere trade partners to innovation partners that allow for better sharing of the dividends of technological progress, to investment partners that open up more space for incremental market growth, and to supply chain partners that can enhance the ability to prevent risks and withstand shocks, he said.

The foreign representatives said that they are willing to cooperate with China for shared innovation and development.