China's famous Chinese Export Commodities Fair, generally know as the Canton Fair, will include a bit of import when it opens this weekend. The Wall Street Journal reported that some 315 foreign companies will be exhibiting their wares among the 31,000 booths. The number is small, and even smaller considering that 99 of the 315 hail from Hong Kong and Macau, but the move is seen more as "a gesture from the Chinese government that they are willing to buy foreign products, but whether there's any substantial effect is a question mark," said Qiu Dongxia, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The Ministry of Commerce in Beijing, which oversees the fair, said the inclusion of the importers into this year's lineup is the most important change in the history of the fair. "China is a responsible trading nation… we are actively and persistently opening our domestic market to the world," said Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng during a news conference in March.
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