World Connect Lounge and World Connect Forum: A New International Hub

The clearest sign of this shift was the debut of the World Connect Lounge and the World Connect Forum, hosted by CBD Guangzhou and developed by Edimotion. Set up as a space for knowledge-sharing, networking and trade, the Lounge pulled in architects, designers, buyers, media and market experts from all over the world.

One detail from the exhibition floor stuck with me. Part of the Lounge was furnished with armchairs from the Chinese manufacturer Victory, designed by Italian designer Claudio Bellini — a clear example of Italian design in China done from the inside. It’s a small thing, but it says a lot: this wasn’t Italian design shown at a distance, as an import or a reference point. It was Italian design working from inside Chinese production. That’s exactly the dynamic the closing roundtable of the forum ended up talking about.

The forum itself ran across two days, July 8 and 9, and was coordinated by Francesco Scullica of Politecnico di Milano.

Discover CIFF Guangzhou 2026

Architecture, Interiors and Materials

Wednesday’s session opened with Scullica’s introduction, then moved through five presentations, each taking a different angle on interior architecture.

Mauricio Cardenas Laverde, founder of Studio Cardenas Conscious Design and a professor at Shenzhen University, laid out several approaches to interior architecture. Sebastiano Cattiodoro, managing director for the APAC region at Vudafieri Saverino Partners, spoke about interior design and bespoke architecture, drawing on the firm’s experience running offices in both Milan and Shanghai. Danilo Trevisan, CEO of Aleatek Studio in Shenzhen, dug into technological research in interior architecture, and Xavier Travert, CEO of AIRI Lab, took the AI angle, talking about artificial intelligence in contemporary interior architecture.

Qi Yi, professor and associate dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Shenzhen University, gave one of the standout talks of the day: “Looking East: A Personal Perspective on the Evolving Chinese Design Market, Its Challenges, and the Interstitial Space.” Mario Alessiani, designer and editor of DesignWanted, closed out the individual talks with a look at international trends in smart homes.

A theme that kept coming back across the presentations: materials, especially bamboo and aluminum.

The session wrapped up with a roundtable, “Connecting Spaces: Scenarios, Challenges, and Opportunities in Global Design,” bringing together Jolie Zhang, deputy general manager of the Import/Export division at Luli Group, and Leepy Li, director of exports for Asia at Soundbox.

Zhang has 17 years in international trade behind her, managing global exports of wood, steel and furniture products to more than 40 countries, with deep experience in certifications, cross-border logistics and risk management. Li represents Soundbox, a company founded in 2008 that works on acoustic technology for architecture and industry, from noise reduction to environmental acoustic control, with the goal of making acoustic comfort a basic part of good spaces.

Different backgrounds, but Zhang and Li landed on the same point: Chinese manufacturers want to be treated as partners, not just suppliers. Their products, they argued, are more advanced and better certified than they used to be, and Chinese companies are ready to work with European firms on equal footing, rather than simply carrying out specs handed down to them. It’s a point worth sitting with, since it runs against how a lot of Western buyers still frame China furniture export relationships.

Global Furniture Industry Trends, Exports and the Middle East

Thursday opened with Matteo Grigolini, a partner and senior researcher at CSIL, giving a global overview of the furniture industry.

The numbers he put up are worth pulling out on their own, and they say a lot about where the global furniture industry stands in 2026. Global furniture production sits at roughly $470 billion, and the forecast holds fairly steady through 2025. China alone accounts for 35% of global production, more than the next few countries put together. Global furniture trade hit $172 billion in 2025, up 36% from 2015, with 37% of all production now moving across borders. Grigolini also walked through the megatrends pushing demand: urbanization, aging populations, a growing number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, environmental pressure and digitalization. He closed by mapping out design trends in contemporary furniture, from a return to tactile, honest materials to a growing overlap between the design languages of kitchen, living room and outdoor spaces.

The second half of the session shifted focus to the Middle East, run in partnership with Construction Week and opened by Pranati Yekula, a columnist for Construction Week Middle East.

Alan George, architect and partner at the Dubai-based firm MKD Design, presented “More Than a Surface: Surface Design Trends for Modern Living,” showing residential and hospitality projects built around stone, wood and other tactile materials.

Sahil Sajan, director of Milano by Danube in Dubai, followed with “Beyond Basics: The Evolution of Middle East Sanitaryware & Ceramics.” He pointed to a Middle East sanitaryware market expected to pass $4.7 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual rate of 5.5%, driven by construction, renovation and tourism, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia leading demand.

The session closed with a roundtable, “Seamless Living: Integrating Smart Technology into Sanitaryware and Surface Design,” bringing together George, Sajan, Kevin Su (CEO of Flova) and Joe Zhu (deputy general manager of Hongqiu Ceramics), moderated by Yekula.

Beyond the Forum

The World Connect Lounge was the headline story, but it sat alongside a full program of other initiatives that filled out the fair’s ambition to be more than a sourcing platform.

Archi Box, now in its third edition, combined a curated exhibition with a materials library and dedicated forums, creating a direct link between designers, producers and suppliers around new materials and more efficient sourcing.

All In IP looked at new business models for design brands, mixing immersive installations, branded experiences and reusable IP content to show how fairs can become platforms for ongoing brand-building rather than one-off showcases.

Nuan Lili · Smart Age-Friendly Living Space stood out as one of the more forward-looking projects: China’s first immersive exhibition dedicated to age-friendly design, going beyond a purely medical approach to show how architecture, interior design and smart technology can support independence, comfort and wellbeing for an aging population.

THE PLACE, now in its second edition, took a broader look at contemporary living, bringing together designers, brands, urban planners and community organizations to examine how residential spaces, commercial environments and whole neighborhoods are evolving toward something more sustainable and inclusive.

Looking Ahead to CBD Guangzhou 2027

Taken together, these initiatives point to a fair that’s deliberately moving past its trade-show roots, positioning itself instead as a platform for knowledge, innovation and long-term international business. The next edition, the 29th, is set for July 8-11, 2027, at the Canton Fair Complex in Guangzhou.