Innovation helps firms win rewards, buck downtrend in exports

Chinese exporters with innovative brands and competitive products managed to buck the downtrend and win sizable orders from overseas firms at the 117th China Import and Export Fair, which ended on Tuesday in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.

Transactions during the bi-annual event, widely known as the Canton Fair, and usually seen as a barometer of China's foreign trade, fell 9.64 percent year-on-year to $28.05 billion, the event organizers said on Tuesday.

"Due to the sluggish demand from overseas markets, many Chinese exporters have realized that the only way to improve competitiveness and get overseas orders is through innovation and advanced technology," said Liu Jianjun, spokesman for the fair.