Seventy percent of the participants to the China Export Commodities Fair are from private firms which have helped expand the private sector, said Fu Ziying, assistant minister of Commerce.

The 100th session of the fair is to open on Oct.15 in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

The 15-day fair will have 31,408 booths covering a record 282,000 square meters of floor space.

Nearly 290,000 foreign buyers have been invited to the event, the most in its 50-year-old history, Fu said at a press conference held here on Monday.

A special exhibition hall will be devoted to 147 brand name local companies, he said.

The fair initiated in 1956 is the world's third largest and rakes in a trade volume worth more than 1.42 trillion yuan last year.

Source: Xinhua