GUANGZHOU - China's tech giant Tencent has become the technical service provider for the 127th China Import and Export Fair, according to the China Foreign Trade Centre (Group), the organizer of the event.

The 127th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, was supposed to kick off Wednesday but had been rescheduled and will, for the first time, be hosted all online in mid- to late June due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Tencent will provide overall technical support, platform R&D and cloud services for the Canton Fair, promoting docking service for both the suppliers and buyers based on its technological advantages and an ecosystem built around its products such as WeChat, Tencent Cloud and Tencent Meeting.

Tencent will also set up a 24-hour livestreaming platform for the exhibitors to not only have face-to-face online talks with participating merchants but to promote to others around the globe.

Tang Daosheng, senior executive vice president of Tencent, said the company will promote efficient docking of online and offline services, thus creating new momentum for global trade.

Held every spring and autumn in Guangzhou, capital of southern China's Guangdong Province, the Canton Fair is widely seen as a barometer of China's foreign trade.

The 126th autumn session of the biannual event received 186,015 participants from 214 countries and regions, and the export turnover reached 207.1 billion yuan ($29.3 billion).