The largest trade exhibition conducted by China in Sri Lanka, the 2018 China Guangxi Products Exhibition promoting China Guangxi brands under the Silk Road series (Sri Lanka) to expand Sri Lanka-China trade opportunities, will conclude today. The exhibition would strengthen the economic ties between Sri Lanka and China. The province specific exhibition will enhance cooperation and trade relationship where Sri Lanka could benefit immensely. The Sri Lankan buyers could develop new sourcing partners and business contacts will pave the way for the growth in trade, Deputy Director General Department of Commerce of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region, Ma Jixian said.
“The ‘B&R’ initiative is an important concept to further develop trade relationship between the two countries and the exhibition will be a significant mile stone in this regard.
“The strategic cooperative partnership between China and Sri Lanka has entered the best development phase. The exchanges and cooperation in the economic and trade fields between the two countries have become increasingly close,” he said. In 2017, bilateral trade volume reached US $ 4.4 billion between the two countries. The all-round development of China-Sri Lanka relations has led to the prosperity of the cooperation between Guangxi and Sri Lanka. In 2017, the trade volume between Guangxi and Sri Lanka totaled US $ 45.73 million showing its huge growth potential.
Guangxi is an important province along the coast, the boarder and the river of the southwestern of Chinese mainland. Located at the joint area of the three major economic circles Southwest China, Guangxi covers a total area of 237,600 square kilometers and a total population of 56 million. In 2017, the GDP of Guangxi was US $ 301.7 billion and the foreign trade was US $ 57.2 billion.
“Guangxi is rich with natural resources such as minerals, hydropower, agriculture, forestry, oceans and tourism. It is one of the most important industrial bases in China’s southwest coast and has an outstanding policy advantage for it not only enjoys the western development policy and the policy on ethnic regional autonomy. It is one of the regions with the greatest development potential and investment value in China. Therefore, Sri Lanka has the advantage of building ties with the province to further develop trade, investment and tourism,” he said.
The exhibition showcased new products to be available in Sri Lanka by the Guangxi province.
Ten Sri Lankan companies have also been given the opportunity to introduce their products to the Chinese market along with the 67 Chinese companies participating in the 2018 China Guangxi Products Exhibition.
The exhibition gave the opportunity for producers, entrepreneurs and customers to gather under one roof for networking and to develop B2B contacts.
The companies also discussed investment opportunities and strategies to increase output and production efficiency. Among the products that were displayed at the exhibition were mechanical, electronic, small industry, metal and chemistry products where the public got the opportunity to witness, study and evaluate the latest technology.
Food products, animal feed, medical products, clothes and garments too will be available for inspection and perusal by interested parties.
The event which is being held for the second time in Colombo, was organised by the Department of Commerce of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.