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The 139th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) concluded in Guangzhou on May 5. During the event, students from the International Business School of Guangzhou City University of Technology (GCUT) participated in it as different roles such as interns, volunteers, and translators.

From English interviews to Canton Fair Complex, revealing a vivid exercise of international trade

GCUT’s International Business School held English interviews to select interns for the Canton Fair in early March. Three students outshone with fluent oral English who won the opportunity to work one-on-one led by enterprise representatives from Joinco (a Portuguese multinational enterprise, which is also an outstanding employment and internship base of GCUT’s International Business School), including Luo Jingcheng from the Class 2023 of International Economics and Trade (bilingual class), Xie Linglong from the Class 2024 of Accounting (bilingual class of Certified Public Accountant), and Gao Hang from the Class of 2025 of International Economics and Trade (bilingual class).

During the Canton Fair, they communicated with foreign buyers in English, covering product selection, customer negotiation, order handling, and global presence.

From the airport to the complex, volunteers were the first to serve international buyers upon their arrival in Guangzhou

GCUT’s International Business School selected 38 volunteers for the reception of foreign buyers at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (Baiyun Airport), who accumulated to serve over 200 hours for nearly 2,000 buyers. GCUT’s volunteers in green vest stationed at the arrival halls of the Terminal 2 and Terminal 3, who held signs to receive exhibitors worldwide with fluent English, serving as the first to meet with them. They delved into how to guide visitors and how to demonstrate the professionalism and enthusiasm of Chinese college students facing foreign buyers who first came to China.

Drawing on the internationalized cultivation of GCUT’s International Business School, these volunteers adopted their solid linguistic and inter-cultural competence to provide services such as consultation, route guidance, and license application for these buyers, fulfilling their tasks successfully.

From “outsiders” to “insiders”: learners participated in the event with their questions

Unlike those selected by GCUT, some students took part in the Canton Fair on their own. They got well-prepared for it instead of working blindly: they collected information of their targeted exhibition areas, listed their questions related to their majors, took a notebook with them, and undertook the task of translation when meeting potential buyers.

They concentrated on their respective “focus” during the Canton Fair. Some focused on product selection of cross-border e-commerce, exploring which products attracted buyers at the exhibition area of consumer electronics the most. Those who got interested in cross-cultural business etiquette observed how experts at foreign trade completed the initial business negotiation within the time of drinking a cup of coffee. While other students payed attention to less commonly spoken languages, spending time in negotiations at exhibition areas of ASEAN and Africa.

Guo Kexin from Class of 2023 of the International Economics and Trade (bilingual class) participated in the Canton Fair several times. She still served as a translator for buyers this year. She thought that the Canton Fair held this year seemed to be “younger” than before since more young people appear to be suppliers and buyers. She shared that “it is no need for us students to concern about the threshold of being a part of it, for we can make breakthroughs as long as we keep improving our learning abilities and practical skills.”

The 139th China Import and Export Fair attracted 31,4000 foreign buyers from 220 countries and regions with 407 leading procurement companies and 154 foreign industrial and commercial institutions. Over 4.65 million products were presented with on-site intended export transactions reaching $25.7 billion. Such data showed that the vitality of global trade, which mirrors that China is committed to its fundamental national policy of opening to the outside world. Which role should business students play in terms of the international business trend? Students from GCUT’s International Business School answered this question with concrete actions in their different ways: playing an active part in it appears to be the best solution.