The Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh has released an urgent advisory outlining streamlined—but stricter—visa procedures for Bangladeshi buyers and exhibitors heading to the 140th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) in Guangzhou this autumn. Effective immediately, applicants must upload the official Canton Fair invitation letter as the sole mandatory supporting document when completing China’s online visa form. The embassy stressed that it has authorised no third-party agencies to act on its behalf and warned would-be travellers against offers of “guaranteed visas,” “special channels” or no-visa-no-fee schemes. Any forged invitation letters or falsified information will trigger automatic refusal and could jeopardise future applications. Locally engaged embassy staff have been barred from touting influence over visa outcomes; violators face disciplinary action. Demand from Bangladeshi companies has soared since bilateral trade passed US $25 billion last year, making the Canton Fair a critical sourcing event. By insisting on direct, self-completed online submissions, Beijing hopes to curb the cottage industry of unlicensed visa brokers that has proliferated in Dhaka. The move also aligns with China’s broader push to digitise consular processes and reduce paperwork. Bangladeshi exporters of garments, leather goods and agro-products—many attending Phase 2 (consumer goods) and Phase 3 (textiles) of the fair—should schedule visa appointments early, embassy officials said. Corporate mobility teams are advised to audit delegate lists, verify invitation codes and run pre-checks on data consistency between invitation letters and visa applications to avoid last-minute disruptions. With China relaxing many post-pandemic entry curbs, attention has shifted from health certification to data integrity. Companies that still rely on travel agents to fill out visa forms may need to retrain staff or adopt digital‐onboarding tools that feed information directly into China’s new consular platform.
