One positive development from the coronavirus crisis is sellers now have a better appreciation of the many benefits online exhibition offers. Chai Hua reports from Shenzhen.

Livestreaming, which has offered a silver lining for both the Chinese mainland’s offline and online retail market in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, is stirring up a craze in the exhibition-and-fairs industry.

Dubbed the “barometer” of the mainland’s foreign trade, the China Import and Export Fair, or Canton Fair – the mainland’s oldest and largest trade showpiece of its kind – has been a magnet for some 25,000 participants from dozens of countries and regions each time, but this year, what’s awaiting them is its first ever online exhibition due to the global public-health crisis that has left hardly any country unscathed.

One unique feature of this year’s fair, which has been staged in the spring and autumn each year since 1957 in the Guangdong provincial capital, Guangzhou, will be a round-the-clock livestreaming for exhibitors to promote their products to global buyers. Suppliers of a wide array of products, ranging from large electronic equipment to exquisite spoons and plates, are making the final push as the online debut is scheduled next week.

They believe that livestreaming is likely to be a long-term strategy that will usher in a fresh wave of foreign trade fairs, waving the magic wand that has defined the domestic retail business.