On August 20, the 12th Overseas Chinese Industry Fair and the 2026 Asia-Pacific Industry Cooperation and Global Expansion Expo grandly opened at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center (Futian). Themed "Connecting Overseas Chinese Worldwide, Shaping the Future Together," this event serves as a concurrent exhibition for the 2026 "Overseas Chinese Empowering Thousands of Enterprises and Ten Thousand Products to Go Global" Initiative (Guangdong) and the Asia-Pacific Economic and Trade Cooperation and Exchange Promotion Event. Leveraging the opportunity of APEC regional economic and trade cooperation, the expo has successfully built an Asia-Pacific economic and trade exchange platform integrating product showcase, supply-demand matchmaking, trend analysis, and long-term services.
Covering an expansive exhibition area of 20,000 square meters, the expo features two meticulously curated thematic zones: the International Intelligent Technology Exhibition and the International Culinary Technology Exhibition. A total of 305 companies have gathered to showcase 23,894 diverse products. As of the opening day, the number of pre-registered professional visitors has reached 31,200. International buyers and buying missions from over 50 countries and regions have flocked to the event, driving a continuous surge in economic and trade matchmaking.
From Exhibition Layout to Momentum: Asia-Pacific Global Expansion Shifts from Single-Product Trade to Industrial Synergy
The Intelligent Technology Zone at this year's expo highlights "Guangdong's Sci-Tech Innovation and Intelligent Manufacturing," bringing together numerous industry leaders and cutting-edge technological achievements. BYD made a splash with its commercial vehicles and comprehensive global expansion solutions, seeking business expansion opportunities in both domestic and Asia-Pacific markets. Shenzhen Zhipingfang unveiled its latest intelligent robot, AlphaBot 2, equipped with an original brain-inspired large model. Live multi-scenario demonstrations on-site attracted close attention from buyers in Southeast Asia, Canada, and beyond. Insta360 showcased its flagship imaging equipment and panoramic drones, precisely targeting the diverse application markets of Asia-Pacific buyers. Additionally, Shenzhen Zhaoyanghui Technology exhibited integrated photovoltaic energy storage systems and smart power platforms, focusing on connecting with overseas Chinese business resources in the Asia-Pacific region. Making its debut, Kuansuan Liquid Cooling presented immersion liquid cooling workstations, while Anxinda Storage's industrial-grade storage modules, backed by its full-chain R&D, packaging, and testing capabilities, targeted buyers in Southeast Asia's industrial control and energy storage sectors.
The Culinary Technology Zone was equally impressive, gathering national brands and time-honored enterprises such as Bama Tea, Yanghe Distillery, and Jianlibao. Covering a full-category matrix of tea, beverages, leisure snacks, and health supplements, the zone has built a matchmaking channel for the internationalization of consumer brands.
The joint exhibition of regional industrial clusters and business associations was a major highlight of the expo. Featured industrial belts from Guangdong, such as Shenzhen Longgang Intelligent Manufacturing, Shantou Overseas Chinese Experimental Zone, and Jiangmen High-End Medical Devices, made a combined appearance. Business associations including the Shenzhen Chaoshan Chamber of Commerce and the International Chaozhou Association showcased Guangdong's manufacturing advantages in full-chain support and comprehensive product supply. For the first time, the expo set up a zone for the achievements of Shenzhen-Shanwei paired assistance and collaboration, as well as a dedicated area for investment environment promotion. Fengxian, Jiangsu, co-hosted a special matchmaking event to promote its local advantageous electric vehicle industry. Lin Shaohua, Executive Chairman of the International Chaozhou Association, noted that exporting high-quality products and industries is not merely about product export, but about re-anchoring the value chain. It serves as a catalyst for industrial upgrading in local markets and presents new opportunities for local merchants to restructure their channels. He suggested capitalizing on the APEC dividend to promote two-way connectivity and mutual benefit.
From the Perspective of Asia-Pacific Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs: Global Competitiveness Evolves from Price Advantage to Value Innovation
On the opening day, overseas business delegates from over 50 countries and regions gathered in Shenzhen. Dozens of overseas national-level business associations, including the Thai E-Commerce Association and the Malaysian AI General Chamber of Commerce, organized buying missions to attend the event. Decision-makers such as company founders, CEOs, and procurement directors accounted for over 60% of the attendees, generating more than 15,000 procurement and cooperation demands in total.
Jenny Chen, Director of Malaysia Welt Co., Ltd., led a delegation of seven local Malaysian AI and FMCG companies to the expo. She stated that the core purpose of the trip was not merely to procure goods, but to facilitate in-depth matchmaking between Malaysian enterprises and Chinese market resources, and to gain firsthand insights into Guangdong's sci-tech innovation strength and full-chain industrial support capabilities. The Overseas Chinese Industry Fair has built an efficient matchmaking platform linking the industries of both regions.
Cao Qing, Chairman of the Australian Enterprise Internationalization Alliance, delivered a keynote speech titled "Opportunities and Practices for Chinese Enterprises Expanding into Australia in the Current Context" as an invited guest. He pointed out that Australia has significant market gaps in industrial intelligent automation applications, consumer electronics, and new energy, which highly align with the supply advantages of Guangdong's leading industries. The platform momentum of the Overseas Chinese Industry Fair can not only help Guangdong manufacturing precisely match overseas market demands and lower the threshold for going global, but also deliver high-quality production capacity and technical solutions to overseas markets, serving as a pragmatic economic and trade vehicle for two-way empowerment.
From Over 30 Events to Trends: Going Global Empowerment Shifts from Point-to-Point Matchmaking to Full-Cycle Ecosystem
Concurrent with the expo, 22 industry exchange sessions and 11 themed business matchmaking meetings were held. Through policy briefings, keynote speeches, industrial matchmaking, project signings, and business pairing, the events promoted precise connections between overseas Chinese business networks, industrial resources, and international markets. On the first day, the "Closed-Door Salon on Global Expansion Strategy" invited Zhu Ning, a global expansion strategy expert and partner at Allpku Management Consulting, to deliver a keynote speech on "Strategic Misjudgments in Corporate Global Expansion Decisions." At the "Exchange Meeting on African Manufacturing Investment Policies and Market Opportunities," Xu Nangeng, Special Envoy of the Republic of Botswana to the President and Special Advisor on Investment and Economic and Trade Affairs, provided an in-depth analysis of the investment environment in Southern Africa, offering domestic enterprises reference for market layout in agriculture, mining, green energy, and other key sectors.
Zheng Yongshi, Executive Director of the Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Business Think Tank Research Institute and Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 12th Overseas Chinese Industry Fair, stated that this year's fair is based in its home city of Shenzhen, primarily aiming to build a two-way matchmaking platform between domestic advantageous industries and the Asia-Pacific market. On the one hand, it strives to promote high-quality domestic manufacturing enterprises to go global and cultivate the Asia-Pacific market; on the other hand, it introduces Asia-Pacific trade resources and cooperation opportunities, fostering deep integration of industrial and supply chains to achieve two-way connectivity and mutual benefit.
It is reported that the expo will continue until August 22. During this period, a rich array of events will be held, including the APEC Enterprise Assistance Initiative, the Fengxian Electric Vehicle Industry Special Session, the Closed-Door Salon on Global Expansion Strategy, the Italian Culinary Roadshow, and Overseas Chinese Business Practice Sharing, covering tracks such as intelligent manufacturing, new energy, consumer electronics, and catering. On the first day, the business matchmaking area received over a thousand domestic and international buyers and industry delegations, with multiple procurement intentions and cooperation agreements reached on-site, fully demonstrating the expo's powerful efficacy in promoting economic and trade cooperation.