The Canton Fair
By Atty. Arthur C. Yap, Representative, Murang Kuryente Party-list
I went to the 140th Canton Fair this week expecting a trade show. I found China’s five-year development plan made physical for all to see.
Organizers report some 32,000 exhibitors this edition. About 64 percent use technologies such as industrial internet and AI, and green products make up a record 26 percent of exhibits (CGTN, 18 September 2026).
Renewables, from panel to pump
Exhibitors sold not just solar panels but complete systems. Some offered home solar-and-battery packages and commercial storage cabinets. Others advertised residential hybrid inverters at 97.6 percent peak efficiency, with a “buy 100, get 5 free” deal for distributors. When this many makers chase the same buyer, I am the next model will be more efficient and cheaper than this one, and provinces like Bohol will reap the gain.
The booth that held my attention was one that sold solar irrigation pumps that a farmer monitors by phone and pays for over time, with zero or low down payment. It is a credit product and an energy product in one box.
This is policy at work. China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development, issued in July, targets about 3,500 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, including more than 300 GW of dependable, peak-capable clean capacity (Xinhua, 23 July 2026). China no longer asks how much solar it can build, but how much it can count on at night. Boholanos asked the same question during this year’s Visayas grid crisis. China is showing us the way with solar energy paired with storage. Solar power can indeed be dependable.
Machines that serve people
A whole hall was given to service robots, and what struck me was whom they serve. There were wearable exoskeletons that help an older person climb a trail or a worker carry a load. Also shown were machines which wash the glass of high-rise buildings so no one has to hang from a rope. I saw four-legged robots that inspect industrial tanks before a person faces the hazard, as well as drones built for crop protection. Hardware and AI are now one product, and that product is a service to people. China’s 15th Five-Year Plan names this “embodied AI” which is a frontier priority.
What Bohol can do now
We cannot match China’s budget, and we need not. Our task is to let private capital bring this equipment home. Each measure below passes three tests: no new bureaucracy, no large appropriation, and benefits visible within twelve months.
1. Sunshine for the farm. Bring solar irrigation pumps to Bohol farmers, starting with units donated by private partners. Pair them with existing agricultural credit and crop insurance so cooperatives can add pumps on pay-as-you-go terms instead of waiting for subsidies.
2. Power for markets and schools. Solarize public markets and schools, and bring ice machines and ice boxes to our fishing towns so the day’s catch keeps its value.
3. Jobs from the sun. Train young Boholanos as certified solar installers and technicians, with government training agencies and private partners sharing the cost and placing graduates in jobs. Once the Sariling Kuryente Act passes, every rooftop in Bohol becomes a job site. This is also the reason why Murang Kuryente Partylist launched a training program with TESDA. We want to ensure capacity to roll out self generated power projects for homes and small businesses.
The next five years
Within five years, solar and storage can be the backbone of Bohol’s farms, markets, schools and resorts, financed by Boholanos and installed, repaired and maintained by Boholanos. The technology now allows local installation at scale. We must not lose this opportunity.
We do not need to become China. We only need to act with a plan. The sun that rises over Guangzhou also rises over Panglao, Talibon and Ubay. The question is whether we will only buy, or also build. Furthermore we must welcome the private sector to bring these investments to Bohol. We must support and incentivize them instead of drowning them in red tape and requirements.
China shows us the future now. May Bohol benefit from the example today.