The COVID-19 epidemic has given rise to many new business forms and models around the world, injecting new impetus into the transformation and sustainable development of the traditional economy. The 34th Shenzhen International Toy and Education Fair, as the world's first major professional toy exhibition, was held in Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Center from March 30 to April 1, 2021. There were more than 1400 toys, strollers, baby products, IP derivatives and other categories of exhibitors in the competition, as well as hundreds of thousands of new products worldwide made their debut, jointly showing the new trend of the toy economy and its new strength.

China is the world's largest toy producer and exporter. According to the organizer, the COVID-19 epidemic hit the operation of China's toy industry last year, with the export of products falling sharply by 25.7 percent in January and February compared with the same period last year. In the second quarter, with the support of the national policy of resuming work and production, the production of enterprises gradually recovered to normal, and the toy export for the whole year was 231.73 billion yuan, up 7.7 percent year-on-year.

Corresponding to the recovery of production capacity, the global toy market pattern has changed. While Europe and the US are still the world's biggest toy markets, consumption in emerging economies is growing fast. Guangdong is China's largest toy production and export base. Last year, the export of toys to the 27 EU countries and the North American Free Trade Area fell by 5.4 percent and 0.64 percent, but the export to ASEAN increased by 9.09 percent, the Middle East by 10.8 percent, and the export to the countries along the Belt and Road rose by 10.7 percent, among which the export to the 16 West Asian and North African countries increased by 10.7 percent. The world toy consumption market is developing more and becoming more diversified.

Li Zhuoming, a senior expert of the toy industry and president of the Guangdong Toy Association, said the implementation of epidemic control and home quarantine measures had made parents spend more time with their children, and sales of puzzles, building blocks, game machines and other types of toys had increased, both in overseas markets and in China.