China Economic Watch: Worst Canton Fair in 3 Years; Rail Passenger Traffic Up 3% Through Apr

Canton Fair Contract Value Sees First Drop in 3 Years
The contracts signed at this year's China Import and Export Fair (also known as the Canton Fair), the largest event of its kind in the country, declined 5% from the previous fair to $36.03 billion, the lowest level in the past three years, as Europe's debt crisis and bleak US recovery pared down demand for Chinese goods. The number of European buyers and their combined amount inked shrank 15.5% and 5.6% respectively. The amount of deals sealed by US buyers fell 8.1%. In comparison, the total amount of contracts signed by the Brics nations and African country's rose 4.1% and 13.5% respectively.

High-End Equipment Revenue to Exceed ¥6t by 2015
Revenue from sales of high-end equipment is expected to exceed ¥6 trillion representing 15% of China's equipment manufacturing industry by 2015, according to a five-year plan released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Rail Passenger Traffic Up 3% Through Apr
China's rail passenger traffic totaled 606.48 million people and rail cargo traffic totaled 1.33 billion tons in the first four months of 2012, up 2.8% and 3.8% respectively from the same period a year ago, the Ministry of Railways said.

172m Mobile Mapping Accounts in China
There were 172 million accounts for mobile mapping services in China as of the end of Q1 2012, up 27.9% from a quarter earlier, according to Analysys International.

$1 = ¥6.3