Premier Li Keqiang attended the online opening ceremony of the 127th China Import and Export Fair (also known as the Canton Fair) on June 15 and inspected enterprises’ exhibitions.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Canton Fair is being held online this year, and it attracted about 26, 000 enterprises from home and abroad.

The Premier encouraged companies to strengthen sci-tech innovations, and develop high-quality products to meet market demands, and continue to play its leading role in promoting the “Made in China” brand with stronger competitiveness and greater achievements. He said that developing cross-border e-commerce is a way for enterprises to survive and compete against the backdrop of the epidemic. The Premier hopes companies can make good use of the policy that promotes sales of export-oriented commodities at home, also, product competitiveness should be improved continuously to enlarge development potential in the international market.

Premier Li stressed that China is a big open market featuring strong global potential. The country will keep improving import facilitation and increase readily marketable products to share the opportunities of the Chinese market with enterprises all over the world. China is willing to cooperate with all countries to empower world economy recovery.

The second half of this year will continue to see a severe and complex external environment, which will exert a lasting influence on the country’s import and export, Premier Li said, calling efforts to ensure six priorities and stability in six key areas, to stabilize foreign trade and foreign investment, and to complete the annual economic and social development goals of this year.

Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua inaugurated the opening ceremony of the fair. Li Xi, secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, Secretary-General of the State Council Xiao Jie and He Lifeng, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, also attended the event.