The China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, was founded in the spring of 1957 and is held annually in Guangzhou in spring and autumn. Co-organized by the Ministry of Commerce and the People's Government of Guangdong Province, and hosted by the China Foreign Trade Center, the Canton Fair is China's longest-running, largest, most comprehensive international trade event with the widest range of products, the largest number of buyers from the widest source, the best transaction results, and the best reputation. It is known as "China's No. 1 Exhibition" and a "barometer" and "weather vane" of China's foreign trade.

The Canton Fair is a window, epitome, and symbol of China's opening up to the outside world, and a vital platform for international trade cooperation. Since its inception, the Canton Fair has weathered storms and remained uninterrupted, successfully holding 137 sessions. It has established trade relations with 229 countries and regions worldwide, achieved cumulative export transactions of approximately US$1.5 trillion, and attracted over 12 million overseas buyers, both in attendance and online. It has effectively promoted trade exchanges and friendly exchanges between China and countries and regions around the world.
The Party Central Committee attaches great importance to the Canton Fair. President Xi Jinping sent important congratulatory letters to the Canton Fair on the 120th and 130th sessions. In his important congratulatory letter to the 130th Canton Fair, President Xi Jinping fully affirmed the important contributions the Canton Fair has made since its founding to serving international trade, promoting domestic and international connectivity, and boosting economic development. He endowed the Fair with a new historical mission and charted the course for its development in the new era. Premier Li Qiang, who personally attended the 135th Canton Fair, emphasized that under the new circumstances, the Canton Fair must continue to excel, striving to create a "never-ending" and "market-leading" Canton Fair, ensuring that this "golden brand" continues to radiate new contemporary brilliance.

Going forward, the Canton Fair will be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, thoroughly implement the spirit of President Xi Jinping's important congratulatory letter, conscientiously implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and the work requirements of the Ministry of Commerce and Guangdong Province. The Fair will innovate its mechanisms, enrich its formats, and expand its functions, striving to become a key platform for China's all-round opening up, promoting high-quality international trade development, and connecting domestic and international dual circulations. It will better serve national strategies, high-level opening up, innovative development of foreign trade, and the development of a new development landscape.