A Trade Dispute with a Canton Fair Exhibitor: What the Complaint Station Accepts, Why the Exhibitor Must Still Be in the Hall, and What Happens After 4 November

Checked on 31 October 2026. We are an interpreting and translation company in Guangzhou (Guangzhou GuanRi Translation Service Co., Ltd.). We are not the Canton Fair organiser, not the complaint station, not an arbitration institution and not a law firm. The services this article ends up recommending, translating the documents in a dispute and interpreting at meetings with the supplier, are ones we sell ourselves. This is not legal advice. Every rule below comes from an official text, all linked in the sources; whether a complaint is accepted is decided by the complaint station, and an arbitration is decided by the arbitral tribunal, not by us. Where a sentence is our own reading rather than the wording of a text, we say so. This article does not use any company data of ours.

This article is for a buyer at the 140th Canton Fair who has a trade dispute with an exhibitor: you paid and the goods did not ship, the goods do not match the sample, or the quantity, packaging or quality is not what the contract says. During the Fair it also applies the other way round, to an exhibitor with a dispute against a buyer, because the Fair's rules cover both; the route after the Fair is for buyers only. It covers the Fair's complaint station, the conditions for a complaint, what happens after it is accepted, what can happen to the exhibitor, the route after the Fair closes on 4 November, and what the texts say about language. It does not cover patents, trademarks or copyright; for those, see our article on IP complaints at the 140th Canton Fair.

1. Which case is yours

The complaint work points work only while the Fair is open; from 5 November, start from the row "The Fair has closed".

Every row is our reading of the texts in the sources. Where the texts are silent, we say so in the section the row points to.

2. The complaint station, and who sits in it

The Fair's measures on trade disputes name one place to complain. Article 4, in full (two sentences, our translation):

广交会设立的知识产权、产品质量安全和贸易纠纷投诉接待站（以下简称投诉接待站）是广交会开幕期间唯一接受贸易纠纷投诉的机构。

中国对外贸易中心与华南国际经济贸易仲裁委员会共同派出工作人员，在投诉接待站负责贸易纠纷投诉接待与处理工作。

In English: the complaint station set up by the Fair is the only body that accepts trade dispute complaints while the Fair is open, and the China Foreign Trade Centre and the South China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission jointly send staff to it to receive and handle trade dispute complaints. In our reading, the article is about the Fair's own channels; it says nothing about going to court or starting arbitration.

Two names to know. The South China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission is another name of the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA); Article 1 of the SCIA's own rules says so. And the 2026 guide calls the station the IP and trade dispute complaint station; the measures, in the text we found, call it the IP, product quality and safety and trade dispute complaint station. We read both as the same station.

For this session the 2026 guide puts complaint work points in Areas A, B, C and D. One sentence matters for a trade dispute (our translation of the part in brackets):

其中C区和D区投诉工作点仅接受知识产权投诉，如发生贸易纠纷，可选择赴A区或B区投诉工作点提起投诉

In English: the work points in Areas C and D accept only IP complaints; for a trade dispute, you can go to the work point in Area A or Area B. The station works during each phase's published working hours. The guide also says that new offline IP complaints are in principle not accepted after 16:00 on the second-to-last day of each phase; that sentence is about IP complaints, and the guide does not set the same cut-off for trade disputes. A trade dispute complaint still needs the exhibitor or its agent in the complex (section 3), so the missing cut-off is no reason to wait for the last afternoon.

3. The three conditions for a complaint

Article 7 of the measures, in full (our translation follows):

第七条贸易纠纷投诉须同时具备以下条件：

1、实行投诉实名制，投诉人持有参加当届广交会的有效证件；

2、被投诉人为当届广交会的参展企业或采购商，且被投诉人本人或其代理人在展馆现场；

3、投诉人提供与纠纷相关联的证据材料（包括交易合同、付款凭证等）。

如被投诉人本人或其代理人不在展馆现场，投诉接待站将协助投诉人找相关交易团或其他相关部门协调处理。

In English: a trade dispute complaint must meet all of the following: (1) complaints are made under your real name, and you hold a valid badge for the current session; (2) the respondent is an exhibitor or buyer of the current session, and the respondent or its agent is in the exhibition complex; (3) you provide evidence related to the dispute, including the transaction contract, payment documents and so on. If the respondent or its agent is not in the complex, the station will help you find the relevant trade delegation or other departments to coordinate.

The Fair's own English summary of these procedures (marked "2017 Edition") puts condition 2 as "The respondent must be a participating party at a current session of the Fair, and must be present at the Fair's complex either personally or through an agent", and condition 3 as "The complainant shall submit relevant evidences such as contracts, payment documents, etc."

Three things follow, all our reading:

• The phase matters. The 140th session runs in three phases (15–19 October, 23–27 October, 31 October to 4 November), and an exhibitor is usually in the hall only for its own phase. A buyer with a dispute against a phase 3 exhibitor can still meet condition 2 until 4 November. A buyer whose supplier was in phase 1 or 2 is on the last sentence of Article 7: the station helps you reach the trade delegation.
• "Etc." is open. The list of evidence is not closed. Bring whatever shows the deal: the contract or pro forma invoice, the payment record, the order confirmation, the sample photographs, the chat records in which the terms were agreed, the booth number and company name, and the exhibitor's contact details: Article 9 has the station notify the respondent using the contact details you provide.
• Acceptance is the station's decision. Article 8 says the station decides whether to accept; a complaint that does not meet Article 7 may be refused, and one that does shall be accepted. Once accepted, you fill in a complaint registration form and the station assigns professional staff at once.

4. After the complaint is accepted: mediation first, then arbitration

The station notifies the respondent, and, if the respondent is an exhibitor, its trade delegation, which must cooperate (Article 9). Then Article 10, first paragraph, in full (two sentences, our translation):

贸易纠纷应当首先通过调解方式进行处理。调解由中国对外贸易中心和华南国际经济贸易仲裁委员会派驻投诉接待站的工作人员共同主持。

In English: trade disputes shall first be handled by mediation; the mediation is jointly chaired by staff of the China Foreign Trade Centre and of the South China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission stationed at the complaint station.

What the measures then say, article by article:

• If mediation succeeds (Article 11), a settlement agreement is made and stamped or signed by both parties or their agents; the station may stamp it as a witness. To give it enforceable force, either party may ask the arbitration commission to make an arbitral award quickly on the terms of the settlement.
• If mediation fails (Article 12), the dispute is submitted to the arbitration commission, unless the parties have agreed otherwise on how to resolve it. You can apply for arbitration during the Fair or after it, within the limitation period set by law. Nothing happens on its own: a party has to apply, and the SCIA's own rules take a case on a written arbitration agreement, which may be concluded before or after the dispute arises (Articles 1 and 8 of the SCIA rules).
• If a party does not comply with an award (Article 15), the other party can apply to a competent court in China for enforcement, or to a foreign court under the UN Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
• After the session closes (Article 16), any further legal action is to follow the contract and the relevant laws and regulations.

How long is "the limitation period set by law"? The measures do not say. If Chinese law governs the contract, Article 594 of the Civil Code reads (official English, published by the NPC for reference only):

The limitation period for filing a lawsuit or arbitration on a dispute arising from a contract for international sale of goods and a contract for the import and export of technology is four years.

Article 594 covers international sale of goods; outside it, Article 188 sets a general period of three years for asking a people's court to protect civil-law rights, unless the law provides otherwise. Which law governs your contract, which period applies and when it started are legal questions. Ask a practising lawyer; do not plan around either number without that answer. Neither is the deadline for the station route: that route needs the exhibitor or its agent in the complex, and phase 3 ends on 4 November.

5. What can happen to the exhibitor

The Fair has a separate set of measures for monitoring exhibit quality and trade dispute complaints at its export exhibition. In the text we found, they work through two lists:

• The complained-of list: exhibitors and joint suppliers complained of by Canton Fair buyers where the complaint was accepted.
• The dispute responsibility list: exhibitors and joint suppliers found liable by a Chinese inspection authority, a court or an arbitration institution and confirmed by the station, or confirmed by the station where the facts are clear, the evidence is sufficient, responsibility is clear and both sides have acknowledged the facts and responsibility in writing.

What the measures attach to them (items 5, 12, 14 and 15, in summary; item 13, on joint suppliers, is left out here):

• An exhibitor on the complained-of list is put under key monitoring for the next ten sessions, before and during each Fair. The monitoring is lifted if the exhibitor produces valid proof clearing it, such as a court or arbitration finding, or a settlement reached through the station's mediation and performed in full, and its trade delegation and the station confirm it.
• An exhibitor complained of by two or more different parties across two consecutive sessions, with the complaints accepted, or one that did not cooperate with mediation in the set time, cannot have more booths in the affected section for the next two sessions than it had in the session of the last complaint.
• An exhibitor or joint supplier on the dispute responsibility list loses its place in the relevant section for six consecutive sessions from the date the station confirms it.
• Serious cases are treated the same way and may be publicly criticised. The example the measures give: complaints from three or more parties accepted in one session, and, after the buyer has produced proof such as payment without delivery under the contract or goods not matching the sample, the exhibitor did not provide evidence in the set time or did not cooperate with mediation, where the Fair finds the exhibitor has damaged its reputation.

These measures cover the export exhibition only. Two cautions, both ours. First, they are a sanction on the exhibitor's place at the Fair; nothing in them orders anyone to pay you. Second, item 16 says that a company that is not an official exhibitor or joint supplier is dealt with under the Fair's booth-use rules; we wrote about those rules in our article on the booth-use regulations.

6. Online, and after the Fair closes

Online, during the Fair. The 2026 guide says the Fair takes trade dispute complaints through the complaint system on its website (cantonfair.org.cn/zh-CN/customPages/complaint) from 15 October to 4 November. The conditions it points to are the Fair's interim provisions for online sessions, whose English procedures say: the complainant "must disclose his/her real name and must hold a valid badge, such as the exhibitor badge or the buyer badge, for the session of the Fair when the contract concerned is made, and shall agree to settle the trade disputes through the mediation system", and the respondent "shall also agree to settle the trade disputes through the mediation system." Under Articles 5 and 6 of those provisions, you upload scans or photographs of the originals, with all pages, and a valid power of attorney if someone represents you. Those provisions were written for sessions held online; whether the station uses this route for a deal made in the hall, ask it.

After 4 November. The monitoring measures, item 9, set the conditions for a complaint outside the Fair period (our translation): the complainant must be a Canton Fair buyer, the respondent a Canton Fair exhibitor or joint supplier, the complaint is made under your real name, and you must provide at least two of the following:

1. the Canton Fair badge, or proof of participation, for the session concerned;
2. a valid contract, agreement or letter of intent signed at the Canton Fair;
3. an official letter and written statement, or the like, from a Chinese embassy, consulate or commercial office abroad, or another Chinese government body dealing with foreign affairs.

Under item 11, the Canton Fair work division of the China Foreign Trade Centre (our translation of 外贸中心广交会工作处) receives the file and decides whether it meets the conditions; if it does, a letter goes in the name of the Fair's leading group office to the exhibitor's trade delegation, which has 30 days from receipt to report in writing to that office on its investigation and mediation. The Fair then tells you the result in writing and may suggest litigation or arbitration. The 2026 guide gives the phone numbers for trade dispute questions outside the Fair period: 4000-888-999 (in the Chinese mainland) or (8620) 28-888-999 (outside it).

If you are at the Fair now with a problem you think may become a dispute: keep your badge, and keep the contract, invoices, payment records and chats you already have. Whether to sign anything new with the supplier is a question for a practising lawyer.

7. Language: what the texts say, and what they leave to you

At the station. We read the four Canton Fair texts on trade disputes listed in the sources (the measures, the monitoring measures, the interim provisions for online sessions and the 2026 guide) and the two English procedure summaries. None of them says what language the mediation is conducted in, or whether documents in another language must come with a Chinese translation. Ask both questions at the work point when you arrive; you can email tradesdispute@cantonfair.org.cn at the same time, but do not wait for a reply.

If you need an interpreter inside the complex, the Fair sells its own. Its English translation service page says: "We provide interpretation service inside the Canton Fair Complex during opening hours of the Fair." The Chinese page is narrower: it says the Buyer Service Centre provides "only" (仅) interpreting inside the complex while the Fair is open. The languages are ten: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Arabic, Korean and German. Booth interpreting is RMB 600 a day in English and RMB 800 in the other languages; escort interpreting is RMB 800 a day in English and RMB 1,000 in the other languages, paid on site at the Buyer Service Centres in Areas A, B, C and D. During the Fair, bookings go through seven Buyer Service Centre locations, each with its own phone number; the email for all of them is ISC@cantonfair.org.cn. The page lists booth and escort interpreting; whether that covers a mediation session at the station, ask the Buyer Service Centre. The Chinese page ends with one sentence: interpreters are limited, first come, first served. The English page has the same note and adds a second sentence: "We recommend making your reservation as early as possible!" If you need an interpreter for a mediation session, ask the Buyer Service Centre early. An interpreter you bring from outside needs a badge of their own; the rules are in our badge article.

If it goes to arbitration. Article 5 of the SCIA Arbitration Rules (as amended with effect from 1 July 2025) has six paragraphs on language. Three of them, in the official English:

2. In the absence of such agreement, prior to the formation of the arbitral tribunal, the SCIA shall determine the initial language to be used in the arbitration proceedings, due regard being given to such relevant factors as the language of the contract involved. After the formation of the arbitral tribunal, the final language to be used in the arbitration proceedings shall be determined by the arbitral tribunal.

4. Where a party or its representative or witness requires interpretation at an oral hearing, the party shall provide or request the SCIA to provide an interpreter(s).

5. The arbitral tribunal or the SCIA may, if it considers it necessary, require the parties to submit a corresponding translation or an abstract of the translation of their documents and evidentiary materials in the language(s) of the arbitration.

Paragraph 1 says an agreement of the parties on the language prevails. In paragraph 2 the Chinese text says the SCIA "may" (可以) take the contract language and other factors into account in deciding the initial language, where the English says it "shall determine" with due regard to them; the Chinese is the softer of the two. Paragraph 4 puts the interpreter on the party that needs one, or on a request to the SCIA. Paragraph 5 makes translation of evidence something the tribunal or the SCIA may require where it considers it necessary, not something the rules require in every case.

For the next contract. The measures recommend that exhibitors and buyers sign written contracts using the Fair's recommended model contract and agree a dispute resolution method in advance (Article 5); the monitoring measures ask trade delegations and chambers or associations to push exhibitors to agree quality standards, how quality objections are confirmed, performance requirements and dispute resolution in the contract (item 3). If the contract is in two languages, Chinese law has a rule for that. Article 466 of the Civil Code, second paragraph, in full (official English, published by the NPC for reference only; two sentences):

Where a contract is made in two or more languages which are agreed to be equally authentic, the words and sentences used in each text are presumed to have the same meaning. Where the words and sentences used in each text are inconsistent, interpretation shall be made in accordance with the related clauses, the nature, and the purpose of the contract, and the principle of good faith, and the like.

And Article 596 lists "the language used in the contract, the validity thereof" among the clauses a sales contract generally contains. Whether to make the versions equally authentic, or to let one prevail, is a drafting decision for you and your lawyer; we wrote more about bilingual contracts in our contract translation article.

8. What we do

Two things, both on our FAQ page:

• Translating the file. Contracts, payment records, inspection reports and correspondence, Chinese to English or English to Chinese, or another language on the list on our FAQ page. Our FAQ page puts contracts in the specialized tier: from RMB 180 per 1,000 Chinese characters for Chinese to English and from RMB 150 for English to Chinese; rare-language pairs are RMB 220–650 per 1,000 characters; the minimum job is 400 characters for Chinese↔English and 1,000 for other languages. It also lists evidence translation and says we have worked on commercial disputes and arbitration. Before we start, ask us what will be on the translation (seal, translator declaration), and check it against what the station or tribunal asks for.
• Interpreting at meetings with the supplier, outside the complex, after the Fair. Our FAQ page lists business meetings among the settings for consecutive and escort interpreting, from RMB 200 an hour or RMB 800 a full day, depending on language and subject.

Prices exclude tax (VAT special invoice adds 6%, general invoice 3%), and new clients usually pay a 30–50% deposit. Our FAQ page says we reply with a quote and timeline within 2 business hours on workdays. You can look through our interpreter directory, message us on WhatsApp / WeChat (WhatsApp +86 139 2416 6640, WeChat ID Saralee93), or use our contact page.

What we do not do: we do not represent you at the station or in arbitration, we do not advise you whether to complain, settle or arbitrate, and we cannot tell you how the station or a tribunal will decide. For that, ask a practising lawyer.

Sources

• China Foreign Trade Centre, Measures of the China Import and Export Fair for the Prevention and Resolution of Trade Disputes (中国进出口商品交易会贸易纠纷防范与解决办法), Articles 1–19: Chinese (PDF), no date printed (the PDF file was created in September 2021); the Fair's English summary, Procedures for the Prevention and Resolution of Trade Disputes in Canton Fair, "2017 Edition": PDF. We did not find an official English version of the full measures.
• Canton Fair, Measures for Monitoring Exhibit Quality and Trade Dispute Complaints at the Export Exhibition (revised) (广交会出口展展品质量及贸易纠纷投诉监控办法（修订）): Chinese (PDF), no date printed (the PDF file was created in September 2021). We did not find an official English version.
• Canton Fair, Interim Provisions on the Prevention and Handling of Trade Disputes during Online Sessions (广交会关于网上举办期间贸易纠纷防范及处理的暂行规定): Chinese (PDF); the Fair's English summary, Online Complaint Procedures of Trade Disputes in the Canton Fair: PDF
• Canton Fair, Guide to IP and Trade Dispute Complaints at the 140th Canton Fair (第140届广交会知识产权和贸易纠纷投诉处理指引), 16 September 2026: page, Chinese; we did not find an official English version
• Canton Fair, trade dispute complaint phone and email: Chinese page (16 September 2026); English page (2022, last updated 25 September 2025), which gives 4000-888-999 / (008620) 89-061-307
• Canton Fair, translation service page: Chinese; English; the page text has no date; the site's record for the Chinese page gives 14 October 2026 and session 140
• Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration, Arbitration Rules (fourth amendment, effective 1 July 2025), Articles 1, 5, 8 and 25: Chinese (PDF); official English
• Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, Articles 188, 466, 594 and 596: Chinese, Supreme People's Court; English, NPC, for reference only (PDF)
• Our FAQ page, read on 31 October 2026: translationchina.com/m/en/faq/