The four-day 31st East China Fair held in Shanghai concluded on Saturday, reaping a total transaction volume of nearly US$2.18 billion.

As one of the largest regional international economic and trade events in China, the ECF boasts the highest number of attendees, the most extensive coverage, and the highest transaction volume.

This year, it featured a total exhibition area of 105,200 square meters with four major themed exhibitions – clothing and textiles, household items, decorative gifts, and textiles and fabrics, and attracted 35,000 buyers from 119 countries and regions and 51,000 visits cumulatively.

Despite the challenges posed by the complex and constantly changing global economic situation as well as the summer heat, the fair exceeded expectations in terms of exhibition results and purchase transaction.

Of note, to provide better trade matchmaking services, this year's ECF set up a special procurement matchmaking area and added an online communication platform based on previous offline negotiations.

A total of six procurement matchmaking sessions were held during the fair, with 900 rounds of negotiations conducted. Four of them were "face-to-face" offline negotiations, respectively for Japan buyers, decorations and gifts, textile and clothing, and household items, which in general saw buyers from 34 countries and regions participating, including Japan, Russia, Germany, India, and Pakistan.

In addition, two online negotiation sessions were held, namely, the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) Special Session and the European and American Buyers Session, with buyers from 21 countries and regions such as Singapore, Russia, Vietnam, Malaysia and South Korea. These sessions helped exhibitors who were not present at the fair to negotiate online, effectively shortening the "trade distance" and providing convenience for trade matchmaking.

The digital economy was a significant focus of the event, with platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba.com, and Google showcasing their services in the areas of cross-border logistics, financial services, comprehensive services, technology services, and marketing and promotion services.

The fair also highlighted the integration of domestic and international markets, with some participating companies bringing both domestic and international trading teams to the event. The integration resulted in a significant increase in domestic trade, organizers said.