GUANGZHOU, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The first phase of the 133rd China Import and Export Fair concluded on Wednesday, with better-than-expected traffic, exceeding 1.26 million.

The long-standing event, also dubbed the Canton Fair, kicked off on Saturday, and will run until May 5 in three phases.

The first phase of the event, which ran from April 15 to 19, comprises 20 exhibition areas, for categories including household appliances, building materials and bathroom products, and has attracted 12,911 companies to participate in the offline exhibition. Of these, 3,856 are new exhibitors.

In the first phase, the participating companies and overseas buyers have fully recognized the exhibition results and generally believe that they are better than expected, said Xu Bing, the spokesperson of the fair, adding that the second phase of the 133rd Canton Fair will start on April 23.

"We will exert more efforts to invite buyers, optimize support services and provide a better negotiation and transaction environment for exhibitors and buyers from around the world," said Xu.

Launched in 1957 and held twice yearly, the fair is considered a major gauge of China's foreign trade. This year's fair resumed all on-site activities in Guangzhou, after being held largely online since 2020 due to COVID-19 prevention measures.