China is the world’s factory, more than ever

NORMALLY 200,000 buyers, hailing from just about every country, would have flocked to the Canton Fair, the world’s biggest trade show. This year, because of the pandemic, it has been conducted entirely online, running for ten days and ending on June 24th. Although no substitute for meetings in the flesh, the virtual fair was a spectacle in its own right, testament to China’s manufacturing muscle. Some 25,000 exhibitors have hosted live-streams simultaneously, often from their factories, chatting to anyone interested in their products.

Among them, Wen Li, a young product manager, demonstrated Z-Green’s self-propelled lawnmowers, to the background clang of the shop floor. Sherry, a manager with My Dinosaurs, gingerly stepped around fake bones as she introduced her company’s giant animatronic beasts, pausing to insert a tongue into the gaping mouth of a brachiosaurus. Joy, a saleswoman with PK Cell, sat behind an array of rechargeable lithium batteries, explaining the workings of the firm’s 23 automated production lines and reeling off its partners’ names, from Walmart to the Chinese government.