On April 8, the Action Plan for Accelerating the Transformation, Upgrading and High-Quality Development of Professional Markets in Guangzhou (2026–28) was officially released.
Wei Min, director of the Guangzhou municipal bureau of commerce, stated at the press conference that fostering an international business environment is not only an important reflection of Guangzhou's level of opening-up but also a key pillar in enhancing its functions as an international commerce and trade center.
Currently, nearly 30 percent of professional markets in Guangzhou have expanded their foreign trade businesses and actively established an overseas presence. GuangDa Business & Trade has set up the China-Africa Going Global (Guangzhou) Service Center; Wanling Square has introduced a distinctive Belt and Road exhibition hall for Georgia; and foreign merchants account for 54 percent of businesses in Jiahe City. Markets such as APM, Yimin, Xindadi, Baima, Zhonggang and Meibo City have also attracted a large number of foreign merchants to operate.
In 2025, professional markets across the city received more than 20 million overseas buyers, with export value via market procurement reaching 10.95 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 39.5 percent. These markets have become an important hub for foreign merchants to operate on a long-term basis and conduct global procurement.
On the next step, Guangzhou will launch a package of policies and measures to advance the internationalization of its professional markets, deeply integrate them into the city's overall international development, and achieve mutual empowerment, coordinated progress and mutual enhancement.
Guangzhou will strive to build a foreign merchant-friendly environment. It will support the establishment of service stations for foreign nationals, accelerate the development of supporting services such as hotels, catering, transportation and medical care to create a livable and business-friendly environment for foreign merchants, improve multilingual signage in key markets, optimize foreign-related payment services, and promote core merchants in key business districts to fully adopt major international bank card payments, enabling foreign merchants to "shop across Guangzhou with a single card".
Foreign service centers will be established in key professional markets, and a "We-Link" international volunteer team will be formed to provide one-stop services for foreign merchants including translation, legal support and foreign exchange settlement.
A Global Merchants & Professional Markets Matchmaking Conference will be held annually. Leveraging the huge traffic of the Canton Fair, Guangzhou will connect with global business resources and launch 10 dedicated procurement shuttle routes directly from exhibition venues to professional markets. The city will also promote the integration of procurement with business, tourism, culture, sports and exhibitions to increase the concentration of foreign merchants and enhance their sense of gain.
The goal is to attract foreign investment, retain foreign businesses, deliver a satisfying experience, make them reluctant to leave, and ensure abundant business opportunities for all.
Building on its strong foundation as an international commerce and trade center, Guangzhou will take the 15th Five-Year Special Plan (2026-30) as its guide and explore local legislation.
"We will stabilize expectations and strengthen safeguards for the development of professional markets, giving businesses a solid vote of confidence," Wei Min stated. Guangzhou will further expand channels for professional markets to go global, encouraging and supporting them to establish overseas exhibition halls, sourcing centers and warehouses. Each year, the city will help more than 100 professional markets and over 2,000 merchants participate in overseas exhibitions.
Meanwhile, Guangzhou will continue to build the "PROMARKET" brand for its professional markets and promote collective development overseas, enabling Guangzhou-made products to go globally in a more stable and effective manner. It will implement the "Golden Scale Pool" Markets and "Golden Scale" Merchants cultivation program, leveraging policy support to nurture potential businesses and foster industry leaders.
The city will support professional markets in developing cross-border e-commerce operations and enhance the performance of key platforms, including:
The LIUHUAMALL platform at Liuhua Clothing Market
The Yue Jing Tong platform at Baima Clothing Market
The Alibaba International flagship store at Zhonggang Leather City
The Global Beauty Sourcing Center at Meibo City
These pioneers of going global will be empowered to develop faster and reach greater heights, forming a forefront base for professional markets and merchants across Guangzhou to expand overseas.
To strengthen market procurement trade and cross-border e-commerce, Wei stated that Guangzhou will focus on the three key areas of customs clearance, logistics, and finance to fully streamline the entire trade chain.
To speed up customs clearance, Guangzhou will continue to improve cross-border customs services, adopt a simplified declaration model, build bulk cargo consolidation centers, and expand and upgrade market procurement trade for products such as cosmetics, helping Guangzhou-made goods go global efficiently and conveniently.
For logistics upgrading, relying on the hub resources of the airport, seaport and railway port, the city will improve the one-stop comprehensive foreign trade service center, integrating full-process services including logistics and customs declaration, foreign exchange settlement and receipt, and legal consulting.
In terms of financial support, banks will be guided to build dedicated financial service platforms, offering one-stop services such as local and foreign currency accounts, foreign exchange, settlement, credit and insurance, so as to achieve efficient coordination between cargo flow and capital flow.
"Guangzhou will ensure all internationalization measures are fully implemented and deliver tangible results, helping professional markets upgrade and elevate themselves amid the city's internationalization drive, and build a one-stop trading ecosystem that buys globally and sells globally!" said Wei.
