GUANGZHOU - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has increased purchases from Chinese businesses from $7 million in 2013 to $20 million in 2016, according to an ICRC official at the Canton Fair.

Marie Otaegui, Asia sourcing manager of the ICRC, said that they had initially been buying Chinese goods mainly through trading companies, and it was not until 2009 that they began to explore the Chinese market themselves.

So far, the organization has purchased solar-powered LED lights, water pipes, tents, plastic buckets, greenhouse equipment, irrigation systems and energy saving lights from China.

Otaegui said the volume of purchases in China was expected from 10 percent to 20 percent in the coming years.

The ICRC sent representatives to attend the ongoing China Import and Export Fair (the Canton Fair) for the first time.

The fair is held in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, and has more than 7,000 companies exhibiting products.