Demand for Chinese products grows steadily: U.S. buyer
This is the 28th time that Steve Neumeyer, a U.S. buyer, has participated in the Canton Fair. He is the CEO of NeuQuality, which is a company that sources component products for U.S. clients. “I look for new products at the Canton Fair, bring the information back to the U.S., and pitch new trends to my clients, that’s how I keep expanding my business.”
Stable supply helps buyers expand business scope
“Wear hiking shoes!” This is the first suggestion Steve gave the newcomers to the Canton Fair. He has walked more than 14 thousand steps by 3 p.m. “The scale of Canton Fair is getting bigger and bigger, which means there are more products to look around,” Steve said he will stay in Guangzhou for three days which is “a very tight schedule” for him to source products with better prices and quality.
The 135th Canton Fair has an exhibition area of 1.55 million square meters with a total of 29,000 exhibitors on-site. The first phase which ran from April 15th to 19th, comprises 19 exhibition areas, for categories including electronics and appliance, manufacturing, light and electrical, hardware, and vehicles and two wheels. 10898 exhibitors participated in the first phase, displaying their products and services with 24887 booths.
Wandering around a booth that sells landscaping diggers, Steve tried a product and consulted the staff member about its performance, specifications, and safety. He was excited, saying, “My U.S. customers have been talking about this product for a long time, but it is hard to find it online. Today, I find it here!”
Steve said his company has been expanding its product scope over the past decade due to the stable supply from his Chinese suppliers. “We deliver products from China to our U.S. customers on time even during the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, my clients keep ordering from us and expanding the scope of cooperation,” he said.
Steve considers that China and the U.S. work well together, saying, “There is no person or company over here who didn’t like the partnership. We work together and want to do a good job for each other because the needs exist. We are tied together really tight.”
Canton Fair, an ideal place to build business connections
When asked the reason why Steve decided to attend the Canton Fair, he said, “I started attending the Fair in 2006 out of the demand for new products. Having understood my demand for expansion, my friend Siva Yam, the President of the US-China Chamber of Commerce, recommended the Canton Fair.”
Without any Canton Fair experience, Steve said that he didn’t plan for a long stay at that time and bought return flight tickets in advance. “I found the suppliers can produce the products that I want. I canceled my flights to the U.S. and stayed for more days. I also went to several factories across China for the products I wanted. That’s awesome,” Steve shared.
“The Canton Fair gathers suppliers from all around China, which means we can reach as many as resources and meet as many as potential suppliers in only one city. I have been buying from the same companies for more than ten years, and keep adding new suppliers. The partnership is stable,” said Steve.
Through the Fair, Steve has built business connections with suppliers from different cities in China, including Foshan, Dongguan, Xiamen, Tianjin, Changzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai, and Suzhou.
Steve said he and some of his suppliers have become good friends. He believes that having a friendly relationship is one of the most important factors when doing business. “I invited my Chinese friends to the U.S. to visit us. I know their wives and kids. We can trust each other, work together, and jointly make business goals come true.”
