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Just 20 minutes after the 140th Canton Fair opened, Jiangsu Oulite Energy Technology Co., Ltd. finalized cooperation with a well-known trading enterprise, securing an order for energy storage products in two 40-foot containers worth 3.5 million yuan. Inside the exhibition halls, popularity and orders rose in tandem—Suzhou Ecovacs' DEEBOT, WINBOT, and AI companion pet robots were demonstrated in turn, with buyers coming in wave after wave; at Wuxi Herun Electric Power's photovoltaic modules and energy storage systems, more than 100 visitors were received on the first afternoon alone, and multiple groups of clients arranged to visit Wuxi for on-site inspections... Signing deals as soon as the Canton Fair opened and seeing business opportunities at the booths keep refreshing Jiangsu's "hardcore efficiency" in connecting with the global market.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Canton Fair. The Canton Fair is a booth, but even more so a window. At this edition, Jiangsu opened a "second venue" right beside that "window"—from October 15 to November 4, during the Canton Fair, Jiangsu innovatively held a series of "second venue" activities: 7 industry matchmaking sessions, 9 city investment promotions, 2 Trade Bridge industry tours, and 3 concurrent professional exhibitions, aiming to turn single deals into industrial cooperation, upgrade enterprise matchmaking into city-to-city partnerships, make negotiations deeper, and make business last longer.
Supply and procurement matchmaking: bringing products directly to buyers
At 10 a.m., in Meeting Room 8 of Area B at the Guangzhou Pazhou exhibition hall, before the Jiangsu artificial intelligence product supply and procurement matchmaking event began, procurement representatives from many parts of the world were busy flipping through materials and talking with representatives of exhibiting enterprises. Behind them, display boards for dozens of Jiangsu enterprises were arranged under three major themes—artificial intelligence, smart living, and smart manufacturing—with star products such as mini pool machines, smart electric stew pots, and smart lawn mowing robots showcased together.
"Jiangsu's artificial intelligence industry has a solid foundation and is developing rapidly, and can be described as 'deeply rooted and flourishing, with a hundred flowers blooming.'" said Ni Haiqing, deputy director of the Provincial Department of Commerce. He introduced that 428 of the Fortune Global 500 companies have invested in Jiangsu, and Jiangsu has formed a well-structured and efficiently collaborative artificial intelligence industrial ecosystem. He expressed the hope of using the "momentum" of the Canton Fair as a national-level platform to leverage Jiangsu's strengths in smart manufacturing, build a bridge for government-enterprise communication and cooperation, promote deep integration of industrial and supply chains, facilitate a number of substantive landing projects, and build a series of medium- and long-term cooperative relationships.
Tens of thousands of businesses gather at the Canton Fair, and many enterprise representatives believe that with so many clients and tight schedules, it is difficult to have in-depth conversations. The "second venue" happened to give them an opportunity to "sit down and chat slowly" with buyers. On stage, heads of parks such as Nanjing Software Valley introduced industrial supporting facilities and carrier resources; off stage, procurement enterprise representatives spoke frankly about their needs. Zhu Zhiwei, procurement director of Indonesia's Changyou Group, said: "Our procurement demand for artificial intelligence is concentrated in three directions: products combining AI with family life, AI terminals and smart devices, and the combination of AI with retail and shopping malls. Jiangsu has a solid manufacturing foundation, a complete industrial chain, and leads in smart manufacturing transformation. This is why we are paying close attention."
The "Jiangsu Premium Products Going Global" enterprise overseas expansion exchange and supply-procurement matchmaking event (electromechanical industry special session) held that afternoon was equally tightly organized. Xuzhou Feng County brought industrial chain data for electric tricycles and also offered six cooperation models; Gaoyou carefully outlined the deep accumulation of its smart lighting industry over 50 years. The core of the two matchmaking events was the word "precision." The Provincial Department of Commerce sorted out procurement needs in advance and matched suitable enterprises, enabling direct dialogue on site about "what you need" and "what I can provide." "By combining government guidance with market resource allocation, letting professional enterprises do more professional things, we ultimately seek more orders for Jiangsu enterprises," said Li Xiaodong, a first-level researcher in the Foreign Trade Division of the Provincial Department of Commerce.
City promotion: putting advantages on the table
If supply and procurement matchmaking is buyers "choosing products," then city investment promotion is enterprises "choosing cities"—whoever can clearly present their "advantages" and explain their services well can win the buyer's next step.
"We have already communicated and connected with the local government regarding a smart equipment manufacturing base project. Could support be given in terms of project site selection, talent introduction, and local employment?" On the morning of the 16th, at the 2026 Suqian (Guangzhou) Economic and Trade Investment Symposium, the head of a robot manufacturing enterprise asked. Li Liang, member of the Standing Committee of the Suqian Municipal Party Committee and vice mayor, immediately introduced the relevant situation and used "five haves" to show sincerity to enterprises in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area: an industrial ecosystem suited to capacity spillover, e-commerce advantages linked to the national market, a hub layout empowering enterprise development, a business environment aligned with advanced standards, and a high-quality ecology suitable for living, working, and traveling. "Suqian has already built a '619' industrial system led by six major industries—artificial intelligence, electromechanical equipment, new energy, new materials, new-type food, and high-end textiles—and supported by 19 key industrial chains such as big data and embodied intelligence, providing enterprises with high-quality industrial supporting facilities."
Just the previous afternoon, Taizhou's industrial cooperation matchmaking meeting was also held in Guangzhou. Jiang Dongdong, secretary of the Taizhou Municipal Party Committee, opened by presenting a "cooperation list" to more than 100 guests from industry-leading enterprises, listed companies, financial institutions, research institutes, and business associations in the Pearl River Delta region: supply-demand matching, track alignment, and platform co-construction. "We are accelerating the construction of the 'Great Sea, New Morning' modern industrial system, and we look forward to more business guests making Taizhou a strategic fulcrum for their layout in the Yangtze River Delta," he said.
The two promotion events each signed 11 projects, with the same feature: no empty talk, direct discussion of cooperation. The Taizhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce signed foreign trade strategic cooperation agreements with Alibaba International Station and the Egatee cross-border e-commerce platform respectively, so that more products can go directly from the "production line" to "overseas markets." Suqian left the "last mile" of communication on site, responding one by one to Greater Bay Area entrepreneurs' investment needs regarding project landing, factor guarantees, and market expansion.
Opening a window: insight into industry development
The value of the Canton Fair is not only reflected in the booths, but also in the global buyers and global information flows it brings. The "second venue" is precisely carrying forward this spillover effect, allowing more Jiangsu enterprises and Jiangsu cities to benefit.
The electromechanical industry special matchmaking event was hosted by Focus Technology. The company's core business, MIC International Station, has continuously explored AI applications in vertical fields over the past decade, building an intelligent collaborative layout of "AI Make serving suppliers and SourcingAI serving buyers." That day, it also released the global procurement AI partner SourcingAI 3.0, promoting "AI + foreign trade" from assisting buyer decision-making toward a trade closed loop covering product selection, matching, negotiation, transactions, and fulfillment, bringing buyers and sellers a more efficient and trustworthy connection experience. "Cross-border trade is moving from 'B2B' to 'AtoA' (Agent to Agent), and this is exactly the direction in which Focus Technology continues to explore the deep integration of artificial intelligence and foreign trade," said Lu Yi, vice president of Focus Technology and general manager of its AI Center.
"The patience of buyers is an extremely scarce resource." Wang Yiran, deputy general manager of the China region of Argentina's SINA SOLUTIONS Consulting Co., Ltd., admitted that the two major gaps of trust and efficiency can easily lead buyers to give up, while AI can precisely improve the current situation. "AI can turn lengthy static reports into a conversational knowledge base, turn mechanical translation style into native-language expression in foreign languages, and at the same time capture buyers' historical preferences to provide customers with a better experience, thereby increasing repurchase rates," he said.
Valentine Rafael from the United Kingdom came to the Canton Fair this time hoping to procure industrial equipment, with a focus on general machinery and basic mechanical parts. At the event, SourcingAI 3.0 precisely broke down his needs around key dimensions such as equipment performance, delivery time, certification, and after-sales service and matched suppliers. After AI agent negotiations, Valentine locked in a procurement list for CNC machine tools and power machinery and reached initial cooperation intentions with relevant supplier enterprises. Supplier preliminary screening that originally required weeks was easily completed on site at the event with the help of AI.
This "window" of the Canton Fair lets the world see the tremendous vitality contained in China's economy and society, and also see the confidence of Jiangsu manufacturing in opening the global market with technology, quality, and brands. And Jiangsu's "second venue" is extending this connection from inside the exhibition halls to outside them—turning the Canton Fair's "traffic" into the industry's "retention."