In Depth: Canton Fair’s Return Shows the Lasting Allure of ‘Made-in-China’

After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Filipino businessman Chen Jin (pseudonym) returned to the Canton Fair in China’s Guangzhou in early April. As a veteran participant at the country’s biggest twice-yearly trade exposition, he started his business over 40 years ago at the fair.

“For a businessman who just started, the Canton Fair was a gold mine,” said Chen, who speaks fluent Chinese. As he recalled his entrepreneurial journey, he pulled out a stack of well-preserved buyer’s passes from his black briefcase. One of them was from the 82nd Canton Fair in 1997, with a photo of young Chen looking ambitious.