The Canton Fair Photo: Chi Jingyi/GT

The 140th China Import and Export Fair, internationally known as Canton Fair, will open on Thursday in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, marking the fair's 70th anniversary. 

Running through November 4, the fair has three phases, with the first - operating from Thursday to October 19 - focusing on advanced manufacturing, showcasing cutting-edge technologies and China's manufacturing innovation. 

Phase 1 spans 520,000 square meters with more than 25,000 booths and more than 12,000 exhibitors, which will present products across five major sectors: electronics and home appliances, industrial automation, lighting and electrical equipment, hardware and tools, and new-energy vehicles plus smart mobility, the Global Times learned from the fair's organizer.

The layout prioritizes global procurement hotspots such as new energy, intelligent manufacturing and embodied intelligence represented by robots.

Two exhibition halls feature brain-computer interfaces, advanced energy storage, high-end chips and artificial intelligence (AI) visualization products, underscoring new drivers of foreign trade.

In industrial automation, humanoid robots, multi-dimensional tactile dexterous hands and embodied intelligent systems will appear. Smart processing equipment supporting multi-material recognition and flexible production can meet the customized production needs of domestic and overseas factories.

New-energy vehicle and smart-mobility exhibits feature intelligent-connected cars, new forms of energy storage equipment and wireless charging solutions focusing on efficiency and lower emissions.

For the first time, the fair has a new product debut zone with display, digital interaction and business-matching areas. Organizers plan more than 700 launch events, with the overall new product numbers up 15 percent from the previous session held in April and May and those in service robots, smart healthcare and new energy rising about 20 percent. 

Some star exhibitors from the previous sessions will debut new products this time. For example, Hangzhou Taixi Intelligent Technology Co (TransitX), a manufacturer of exoskeletons, will present its latest exoskeleton devices, the Global Times learned from the company. 

At the previous edition, a visitor from Argentina with disabilities tried the equipment, stood and walked independently - an emotional moment that went viral online.

"The 140th Canton Fair spotlights advanced manufacturing, giving international buyers direct access to China's latest hard-tech solutions and collaborative innovation," Geng Liang, sales manager at Millplan Electric Appliance (Shenzhen) Co, told the Global Times. The company will also a new AI-powered fruit peeling machine at the 140th Canton Fair.

Apart from exhibits, the exhibition halls are undergoing digital updates.

This Canton Fair has further raised digitalization and intelligence levels, having achieved full-venue booth-level navigation and augmented reality information display, Liu Shuya, a manager at the Comprehensive Management Department of the China Foreign Trade Centre (CFTC), told the Global Times. The CFTC is one of the organizers of the Canton Fair.

"Using a bluetooth-BeiDou-5G integrated positioning system, we have built a real-scene navigation network with one-meter accuracy covering 45 halls, 1.55 million square meters and more than 75,000 booths, solving the long-standing difficulties of finding booths, products and companies for global buyers," said Liu.

Service innovation extends to dining. Liao Zhihao, general manager of the Exhibition Service Department of the CFTC, told the Global Times that four culinary robots will operate in two restaurants of the Canton Fair venue, enabling automated cooking and a new catering model.