On the opening day of the 140th Canton Fair, John Land, a former Australian Deputy Ambassador to China, lingered at an exhibitor's booth. His last visit to Guangzhou was in 1975, when he had already heard of the Canton Fair. This time, what caught his attention was a pair of robotic hands strapped to the arms. Neural signals enabled each finger to move in ways closely resembling a human hand. "This is remarkable," he said. He took down the details, planning to discuss imports with hospitals after returning to Melbourne and to talk with Chinese companies about distribution.

This is one snapshot of how the Canton Fair is aligning with Asia-Pacific economic and trade cooperation during APEC "China Year" 2026. The 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will soon be held in Shenzhen. Meanwhile, at Pazhou, buyers from the 21 APEC member economies are placing orders that put their interest in the region's trade opportunities into action.

Buyers are shifting focus from finished goods to technologies. Australian buyer Mark headed straight to the service robotics zone, saying demand for humanoid robots in Australian households was growing rapidly. Christopher, a buyer from Canada, was interested in integrated prefabricated housing, noting it holds market competitiveness amid local housing shortages. Foshan's JATEN Robotics has lifted its overseas revenue share from single digits to over 40%, with products sold in more than 30 countries.

In the first three quarters of this year, Guangdong's imports and exports with other APEC member economies totaled 5.74 trillion yuan, up 26.4% year on year and accounting for 65.9% of the province's total foreign trade. Trade with each of 15 member economies grew by double digits. Xia Yang, Vice President of the Canton Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand, has estimated the multiplier effect of the overseas Chinese community: New Zealand is home to around 300,000 ethnic Chinese, each of whom could bring five to ten local consumers into the market, potentially reaching almost the entire local consumer base.

Source: PEARL

广交会遇上“APEC时间”，亚太客商找到了什么？

第140届广交会开展首日，澳大利亚前驻华副大使约翰·兰德在展台前久久没有离开。上一次来广州是1975年，那时他就听说过广交会。这一次让他驻足的是一双“机械手”——绑在手臂上，神经信号能带动每根手指做出接近人手的动作。“这非常了不起。”他记下资料，准备回墨尔本后与医院探讨进口，也和中方企业谈分销。

这是2026年APEC“中国年”背景下广交会与亚太经贸深度咬合的切片。不久后，亚太经合组织（APEC）第三十三次领导人非正式会议将在深圳举行；而此刻的琶洲，来自21个APEC经济体的采购商正用一笔笔订单写下注脚。

从“买商品”到“买技术”，需求在变。澳大利亚采购商Mark直奔服务机器人展区，说人形机器人在澳家庭需求快速增长；加拿大采购商克里斯托弗看中一体化装配式房屋，认为在当地住房紧张背景下“具备市场竞争力”。佛山嘉腾机器人的海外营收占比已从个位数升至四成以上，产品覆盖30多个国家。

今年前三季度，广东对APEC其他经济体进出口5.74万亿元，增长26.4%，占全省外贸总值的65.9%；对15个成员经济体进出口均两位数增长。新西兰粤商会副会长夏阳算过一笔“侨力杠杆”：当地常住华人约30万，每人带动5到10位本地消费者，“基本可以全覆盖”。

文｜记者 孙绮曼 莫谨榕
译 | 郑书悦
审 | 曾敏