Although market diversification is the key strategy for most Chinese exporters trying to cope with the financial crisis, some still see trade barriers and a lack of trust in companies from emerging markets.

"Expanding into developing markets is the trend," said Zhu Wenyi, sales manager at Zhejiang Busen Garment Holding Co, which produces men's suits. "But the tariffs against Chinese products in some Latin American countries are still an obstacle in front of us," The company is considering opening stores in Ecuador in the next two or three years.

Lu Jiechuan, an exporter from Shandong province, said there were risks attached to doing business with developing countries in that the companies often had not been around for long and so didn't command confidence.

"Many Eastern European companies fail to offer letters of credit and buyers from the Middle East bargain a lot and the prices they offer are not as good as those made by American and European companies," he said.

Although the Canton Fair witnessed a modest increase in orders from new and emerging markets, the overall atmosphere was one of extreme caution. Many buyers had no plans to place orders at the fair but attended simply to check prices to get an idea of the future market.

"Of course we are getting more cautious," said Asgar Suliman, a textile trader from South Africa.

"People buy less and look for cheaper prices because of the economic downturn - so we are looking for cheaper prices too," He said he would only place an order after personally visiting some of the factories of Chinese producers.

"We want orders more than anything else," said Luo Dongxu, a footwear trader from Guangdong whose sales in the European and American market dropped by more than 50 percent.

"The orders booked by buyers from developing countries are usually small. But given the current situation, small orders are better than no order."

Canton Fair has been held in Guangzhou in the spring and autumn seasons every year since the spring of 1957.

It is co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the Guangdong provincial government, and organized by the China Foreign Trade Center.

The Fair is the largest trade fair in China. Among China's largest trade fairs, it has the largest assortment of products, the largest attendance, and the largest number of business deals made at the fair.

(China Daily May 11, 2009)