The East China Fair, known as the weather vane of China’s foreign trade, held its 30th opening ceremony online on July 13. To help stabilize the trade market which has been affected by the outbreak, the East China Fair is providing a 24-hour online service, bringing new opportunities for foreign businesses.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, demand has declined in the international market. Under this difficult circumstance, foreign trade enterprises in China have started to produce and export epidemic prevention and control products to supple domestic and overseas’ needs. The East China Fair this year thus set up an area for epidemic prevention materials. Exhibitors coming here include healthcare enterprises and some enterprises that have just got into the healthcare market.

Fujian Colorful Fox Garment & Weaving Co., Ltd. was originally engaged in making beachwear. Affected by the epidemic this year, the company’s orders decreased sharply. However, the need for epidemic prevention and control products has spawned a huge market for medical products. In March and April, this company quickly turned to producing anti-epidemic materials. They rebuilt the original production line to produce knitted masks and supplied them to the US. “So far we have sold tens of millions of masks,” a manager said.

Besides Fujian Colorful Fox, there are many companies actively helping themselves through exporting anti-epidemic materials. According to data released by The General Administration of Customs on July 14, China's exports and imports both rose in June for the first time this year.

Nevertheless, some exhibitors said that they are still confronted by various difficulties in the process of serving the anti-epidemic material industry market including certification, logistics and insurance.

First，businesses have to get a certificate to export products to Europe and America. Second, most enterprises’ understanding of logistics and green channels for anti-epidemic materials is limited. Finally, after dealing with overseas purchasers, they have found that it’s quite difficult to enter the market.

To help companies go through this difficult period and create as many trading opportunities as possible, the East China Fair’s special area for anti-epidemic materials provides convenient conditions for exhibitors to communicate with each other. “The fair exposes us to lots of purchasers and partner enterprises. We can jointly enhance our competitiveness in the international market,” another manager said.