Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

    GUANGZHOU, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Sales were down at a major Chinese trade fair which closed here Thursday.

    Contracts signed during the 104th China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong, totaled 31.55 billion U.S. dollars. That's down 17.5 percent from the previous fair held in April and down 15.8 percent from the autumn session a year ago.

    More than 175,000 foreign buyers visited the fair which opened October 15. Attendance was down 8.6 percent from April and 7.4 percent from last year.

    The number of buyers from Europe and the United States accounted for 35.3 percent of the total number of attendees. 55 percent were from Asia.