The autumn session of the 2012 Canton Fair wrapped up its first week of display on last Friday (Oct.19), mainly focusing on machinery and electronics products, hardware products and chemical products.

Statistics from the fair's organizer show that the number of overseas buyers to the fair - a barometer of China's export situation - declined considerably, indicating weak global demand amid a sluggish recovery, compounded by a more recent eurozone debt crisis.

The fair registered a total of 93,529 overseas buyers as of Tursday (Oct.18), a decline of 11.4% over the same period in the spring session.

At a time when the entire world is tightening its belt, global buyers are more cautious and hesitant in clinching orders. The grim foreign trade outlook is further dampened by a disheartening overall economic situation. Enterprise representatives interviewed at the fair say the persisting eurozone debt crisis is hindering the recovery of global demand.

ECONOMIC REBLANCING: A WAY OUT

The recovery of trade will restore vitality to the global economy, and this is a necessary step in realizing global economic rebalancing, experts say.

Stringent overseas demand has also forced Chinese manufacturers to reconsider the domestic market, and experts say this will bring fundamental changes to the global market as well as the industrial scenario.

Experts say the global economic rebalancing is speeding up, characterized by a transfer of Chinese labor-intensive industries such as garment manufacturing to neighboring countries like Vietnam and Indonesia, though a massive industrial drain is not likely for a long period of time.