The biannial China Import and Export Fair, or Canton Fair, has made unremitting contribution in expanding global trade linkage and bridging gap in forging worldwide market synergy.

With a history of sixty-six years, the event has become a prominent international trade fair in China. Over the past decades, the expo has seen great changes in the domestic and global economic landscape, embodying the leaps and bounds in the country's economic development and prevailing trend in the global market.

The 133rd Canton Fair commenced in Guangzhou City on Saturday, combining both offline and online events for the first time in three years.

As the largest-size expo in its history, the exhibition area reaches a record 1.5 million square meters, gathering over 35,000 offline exhibitors and 40,000 online participants from over 220 countries and regions. The fair attracted more than 350,000 visitors on the first day.

Official data showed that the Canton Fair has accumulated export transactions amounting to 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars since its inception in 1957.

"Over the past 67 years since its founding, the Canton Fair has registered a combined export turnover of some 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars, attracting roughly 10 million overseas buyers to its online and offline exhibitions. It has played a unique role in boosting economic and trade relations between China and other countries in the world," Wen Zhongliang, deputy secretary general of the fair, said on Sunday while addressing the second Pearl River International Trade Forum in Guangzhou, which highlights China's economic and trade cooperation with Africa and West Asia.

As China's largest trade promotion platform, Canton Fair enables enterprises of African and West Asian countries to benefit from China's development opportunities, Wen noted.