On the afternoon of April 16, a key supporting event of the 139th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) — “Trade Bridge · Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Supply Chain Matchmaking Event · Hong Kong Session” was successfully held in Guangzhou. Under the theme of “Friends from Afar · Smart Manufacturing for Win-Win Cooperation”, the event was co-hosted by the Trade Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong SAR and the China Foreign Trade Centre, and co-organized by the Greater Bay Area Importers and Exporters Association.25 Hong Kong buyers and more than 70 Canton Fair exhibitors gathered for precise and efficient supply chain matchmaking, promoting the in-depth integration of “GBA Smart Manufacturing + Hong Kong Services” and injecting strong impetus into the coordinated economic and trade development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Zhou Qiang, Deputy Director of the Economic Affairs Department and Head of the Trade Office of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong SAR, Liu Xiaomin, Executive Deputy Director of the Secretariat and Foreign Affairs Office of the Canton Fair, and Cai Yi, Honorary President of the Greater Bay Area Importers and Exporters Association, attended the event and delivered speeches.

Zhou Qiang pointed out that in 2025, China remained the world’s largest goods trading country. Foreign trade in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area maintained a sound momentum with continuous optimization of trade structure, and steady improvement in innovation, green and smart content. Hong Kong’s import and export volume also hit a record high, playing an irreplaceable role in linking global markets and facilitating supply chain integration.

He emphasized that Hong Kong enjoys the unique advantages of “One Country, Two Systems” and its status as an international financial, shipping and trading center, serving as a “super connector” and “super value-added partner” between the mainland and the world. The Hong Kong business community should seize strategic opportunities including the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, innovative trade development, and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and take the initiative to integrate into and serve the overall national development.

In his speech, Liu Xiaomin elaborated on the core highlights of the matchmaking event:

1. Smart innovation leadership: Gathering high-quality GBA exhibitors such as Gree, Kelitong and Gute that prioritize innovation, smartness and green development, showcasing the achievements of new quality productive forces in the Greater Bay Area.
2. Leading enterprise drive: Attracting global leading buyers including Germany’s Lidl and Hong Kong’s Li & Fung with large orders.
3. Digital empowerment: Realizing seamless connection between online pre-matchmaking via the Canton Fair APP and offline negotiations, greatly improving supply-demand matching efficiency.

He expressed the hope that the “Trade Bridge” would closely link Hong Kong buyers with high-quality mainland industrial belts, and truly convert the Canton Fair’s traffic into industrial growth.

Cai Yi stated that the Canton Fair is a vital bridge connecting China with the world and a core platform for Greater Bay Area enterprises to explore overseas markets.

In line with the new national positioning of Hong Kong as a “high-value-added supply chain service center” and “bulk commodity trading ecosystem”, the event seized the policy dividends of cross-border trade facilitation. It gave full play to Hong Kong’s edge of “backing the motherland and connecting the world” and the complete and efficient manufacturing industrial chain of the nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area.

By building the “Trade Bridge” through in-depth coordination of “GBA Smart Manufacturing + Hong Kong Services”, the event helped enterprises efficiently connect with the global market. He looked forward to all parties deepening practical cooperation to draw a new blueprint for win-win economic and trade development in the Greater Bay Area.

A 128-minute centralized matchmaking session was arranged at the event. Buyers and exhibitors sat together for in-depth and practical discussions on core topics such as order cooperation, brand globalization, and supply chain coordination. The on-site negotiation atmosphere was warm with fruitful results.

To ensure efficient and precise matchmaking, the Greater Bay Area Importers and Exporters Association shared detailed supplier information with buyers and buyer lists with exhibitors in advance, allowing both sides to shortlist potential partners beforehand.

This mature and efficient matchmaking model has been inherited since the 135th Canton Fair and has become an annual branded event at the fair.

Dai Shuang, a buyer representative, said that her company was developing new businesses in building energy efficiency and electric vehicle charging piles and urgently needed to partner with quality suppliers. The event brought together concentrated suppliers with on-site sample viewing, and the matchmaking efficiency exceeded expectations.

Wang Jun, an exhibitor representative, noted that his company mainly produces AIoT products and previously faced high thresholds to connect with leading buyers. This event enabled precise matchmaking, and a strong cooperation intention had been reached with an international brand licensing company, which would visit the booth and the factory.

As a series of special events for the “9+2” Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area supply chain coordination built by the association together with the Canton Fair, this matchmaking event not only effectively activated the massive buyer resources of the Canton Fair and converted exhibition traffic into tangible industrial cooperation growth, but also further smoothed the internal and external circulation of the Greater Bay Area’s supply chain.

The event deeply integrated Hong Kong’s strengths in international trade, financial services and global channels with the mainland’s advantages in smart manufacturing, industrial supporting and technological innovation, providing an efficient platform for Greater Bay Area enterprises to link global markets and solid support for the high-quality development of the Greater Bay Area and the overseas expansion of enterprise brands.

Going forward, the Greater Bay Area Importers and Exporters Association will continue to rely on open platforms such as the Canton Fair, deepen supply chain matchmaking services in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and further build the “Trade Bridge” brand to help more Greater Bay Area enterprises go global and achieve win-win development.